Russia's Cryptocurrency Regulation Shift: Moving Away from Special Oversight and Into Daily Life

Russian State Duma’s Committee on Financial Markets Chairman Anatoly Aksakov recently announced that a bill aimed at “removing cryptocurrencies from special financial regulation” is ready and plans to be a key focus during the upcoming spring session.

The core goal of this bill is to make cryptocurrencies a common phenomenon in the daily lives of Russian citizens, rather than viewing them as financial products requiring special regulation.

01 Bill Core: From Special Regulation to Daily Life

Russia’s cryptocurrency regulation is experiencing a historic turning point. According to Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma’s Committee on Financial Markets, a key bill has been drafted to exempt cryptocurrencies from special financial regulation.

This legislation will transform cryptocurrencies from “objects of special regulation” to “common phenomena in daily life,” meaning the legal status of digital assets in Russia will undergo a fundamental change.

According to Aksakov, the bill will allow professional participants in the financial markets to use cryptocurrencies without restrictions. Non-qualified investors will also gain access, albeit with certain limitations.

The legislator emphasized that in the future, Russian residents will be able to use digital currencies for international settlements and raise foreign capital by issuing such assets in international financial markets.

02 Market Background: Europe’s Largest Crypto Market on the Rise

This bill is not coming out of nowhere but is based on the reality that Russia has become Europe’s largest cryptocurrency market.

Data shows that from July 2024 to June 2025, the total cryptocurrency transaction volume received by Russia reached $376.3 billion, surpassing the UK’s $273.2 billion, making it Europe’s largest crypto market.

More notably, large transactions in Russia (over $10 million) increased by 86% during this period, nearly double the 44% growth rate seen in other parts of Europe.

In early 2025, Russia’s decentralized finance activities surged eightfold, then stabilized at about three and a half times the mid-2023 level. This market activity provides a realistic foundation for regulatory framework changes.

03 Digital Financial Assets: Russia’s Unique Tokenization Practice

Russia’s digital financial asset market has already taken shape. According to the Central Bank of Russia, the DFA market grew by over one-third in 2025, reaching a scale of $13 billion.

Unlike many tokenized commodities in the West, Russia’s DFAs are built on private blockchains and can only be traded on domestic platforms licensed by the Central Bank.

Russian DFA issuers have issued tokens representing various assets, from cocoa beans to real estate in Saint Petersburg. In the first nine months of 2025, the total issuance of Russian DFAs increased by 33%.

Short-term DFA yields this year averaged 1.7 percentage points above short-term bond yields. This yield advantage further promotes market development.

04 Exchanges and Derivatives: Traditional Financial Institutions Actively Enter

With the regulatory environment gradually clarifying, Russia’s major exchanges are ready to welcome cryptocurrency trading. Both the Moscow Exchange and Saint Petersburg Exchange confirmed that once the legislative framework takes effect in mid-2026, they will launch regulated cryptocurrency trading.

Cryptocurrency derivatives also show strong growth momentum in Russia. On the Moscow Exchange, cryptocurrency futures trading volume reached $636 million in November 2025, setting a new record for futures contracts.

Since Russian investors cannot purchase popular US-listed Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, Moscow Exchange and major banks have launched their own fund products.

These products track the prices of popular products like the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF under BlackRock. As regulation relaxes, the availability of these products will further increase.

05 Mining Industry: From Gray Area to Legal Economic Pillar

Bitcoin mining has become an important part of Russia’s economy. Russia’s mining capacity peaked at about 2.1 to 2.2 gigawatts in 2024. Although it decreased to about 1.7 gigawatts in 2025, it is expected to recover to the 2024 peak level in 2026.

Industry estimates show that Russia produces tens of thousands of bitcoins annually, with daily mining revenue of about 1 billion rubles. During summer months, Russia’s share of global hash rate exceeded 16%.

Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina recently acknowledged that cryptocurrency mining helps strengthen the ruble, although she noted that quantifying its exact impact remains difficult because most of the industry operates in the gray area.

Illegal mining causes Russia billions of dollars in losses annually through electricity theft and tax evasion. On November 1, 2024, Russia legalized cryptocurrency mining, requiring legal entities to register with the Federal Tax Service.

06 Policy Context: From Conservative to Open Regulatory Evolution

Russia’s cryptocurrency regulation policy began shifting in mid-2024, when the Ministry of Finance first proposed allowing qualified investors to trade digital currencies on licensed exchanges.

In spring 2025, due to Western sanctions limiting traditional financial channels, Russia introduced a special legal regime allowing the use of digital currencies in cross-border payments.

In May 2025, the Central Bank of Russia authorized financial institutions to offer crypto derivatives to qualified investors. In November of the same year, Moscow’s financial regulators began discussing the possibility of relaxing overly strict requirements for investors.

According to the new regulations expected to be enacted on July 1, 2026, ordinary qualified investors and even ordinary citizens will be able to legally purchase cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, although the latter will have an annual purchase limit of 300,000 rubles (about $3,800).

As the regulatory framework improves, major trading platforms like the Moscow Exchange and Saint Petersburg Exchange are ready to launch cryptocurrency trading services.

Future Outlook

As of January 14, the cryptocurrency market in Russia shows a divided trend amid positive regulatory news. Among mainstream coins, Bitcoin’s price fluctuates around 94,500.

The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies is currently about $3.09 trillion, with Bitcoin accounting for 58.43%, approximately $1.8 trillion. Ethereum’s price hovers around $3,350.

Meanwhile, Russia’s crypto future is unfolding—DFA market has reached $13 billion, Moscow Exchange’s crypto derivatives trading volume hit a new record of $636 million, and the mining industry is returning to a peak capacity of 2.2 gigawatts.

When the new bill is finally passed, Russia’s cryptocurrency market will enter a new chapter, and that chapter has already begun to be written in the draft law soon to be reviewed by the State Duma.