Bitcoin Magazine

Russia Moves to Make Crypto ‘Everyday Finance’ as Lawmakers Prepare Retail Access Bill

Russia is moving closer to opening its crypto market to everyday investors, as lawmakers prepare legislation that would remove digital assets from a special regulatory category and allow broader, though still capped, retail participation.

Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the State Duma’s Committee on Financial Markets, said a draft bill is ready for consideration during the spring parliamentary session. 

The proposal would effectively normalize cryptocurrency within Russia’s financial system, signaling a shift toward treating digital assets as part of “everyday finance” rather than an exceptional or experimental instrument, according to local media outlet TASS. 

Under the expected framework, non-qualified investors — individuals who do not meet Russia’s professional or high-net-worth criteria — would be permitted to buy cryptocurrency up to a limit of 300,000 rubles, roughly $3,800. 

The legislation would remove crypto from a special financial regulation regime that has historically constrained their use. 

Supporters argue this change would help integrate digital assets more deeply into the economy, making crypto ownership and transactions increasingly “commonplace” for Russian citizens. 

While the bill does not signal a fully liberalized market, it marks a notable evolution in Russia’s stance after years of tight controls and skepticism from financial authorities.

Crypto’s use in cross-border transactions

Beyond domestic trading, the bill is also designed with international considerations in mind. Lawmakers expect the new framework to support the use of cryptocurrencies in cross-border settlements and to enable the issuance of tokens in Russia that could be placed on foreign markets. 

Such mechanisms are seen as particularly relevant as the country continues to explore alternatives to traditional financial rails for international trade.

The move aligns with a broader, carefully calibrated approach from Russian regulators. In recent months, policymakers have emphasized the need to balance innovation with risk management, especially when it comes to retail investors. 

The Bank of Russia has previously warned that unrestricted access could pose systemic risks, calling broad retail participation a “drastic step” if introduced without safeguards.

In December, the central bank proposed a model that would allow non-qualified investors to trade crypto only after passing a risk-awareness test, while maintaining bans on anonymous and privacy-focused digital assets. 

Around the same time, the Finance Ministry signaled it was working with the central bank on a coordinated policy that would permit retail access within clearly defined thresholds.

Officials have repeatedly stressed that limits on transaction sizes and investment volumes are essential to preventing excessive speculation and protecting households.

The proposed 300,000-ruble cap reflects that philosophy, offering exposure without opening the door to large-scale retail risk.

This post Russia Moves to Make Crypto ‘Everyday Finance’ as Lawmakers Prepare Retail Access Bill first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Russia Opens the Door to Bitcoin and Crypto for Retail Investors

The Bank of Russia has set out a new framework to regulate cryptocurrencies, proposing tiered access that would allow everyday investors to buy digital assets alongside professional market participants, while maintaining tight controls on risk and usage.

In a concept paper released Tuesday and submitted to the government for review, the central bank said both qualified and non-qualified investors would be permitted to acquire crypto assets, but under different rules, limits and testing requirements. 

The move marks another step in Russia’s gradual shift toward accommodating digital assets as sanctions reshape financial flows and market infrastructure.

Earlier this year, the Bank of Russia moved to allow domestic banks to conduct limited crypto operations under strict oversight. First Deputy Chairman Vladimir Chistyukhin said the central bank, while maintaining a conservative stance on assets like bitcoin, no longer sees a justification for fully excluding banks from such activity. 

It was also reported that Russia was using bitcoin to settle some oil trades with China and India, routing payments through intermediaries to bypass Western sanctions. 

So with that said, the current proposal maintains the central bank’s long-standing caution toward cryptocurrencies, which it continues to classify as high-risk instruments. 

The Bank of Russia warned that crypto assets are not issued or guaranteed by any jurisdiction, are subject to sharp price swings, and carry elevated sanctions and operational risks. Investors, it said, must fully accept the possibility of losing their funds.

JUST IN: Bank of Russia prepares a concept for regulating Bitcoin and crypto.

Russia may allow unqualified investors to buy Bitcoin and crypto pic.twitter.com/xbyHcBuUpE

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) December 23, 2025

A $3,800 cap for Russia’s retail investors

Under the framework, non-qualified, or retail, investors would be allowed to purchase only the most liquid cryptocurrencies, based on criteria to be defined in legislation. 

Access would be conditional on passing a knowledge test, and purchases would be capped at 300,000 rubles (around $3,800) per year through a single intermediary.

Qualified investors would face fewer constraints. They would be permitted to buy any cryptocurrency without transaction limits, provided they pass a test confirming their understanding of the risks. However, anonymous cryptocurrencies—defined as tokens whose smart contracts conceal information about transaction recipients—would remain off-limits.

Digital currencies and stablecoins would be formally recognized as monetary assets under the proposal, meaning they could be bought and sold. 

Their use as a means of domestic payment within Russia would remain forbidden, reinforcing the central bank’s position that crypto should not function as an alternative to the ruble in everyday transactions.

Cryptocurrency trading would take place through existing licensed infrastructure. Exchanges, brokers and trustees would be able to offer crypto services under their current authorizations, while additional requirements would apply to specialized crypto depositories and exchangers.

The framework also allows Russian residents to buy cryptocurrencies abroad using foreign accounts and to transfer previously acquired crypto overseas through Russian intermediaries. Such transactions would require notification to the tax authorities.

Beyond cryptocurrencies, the proposal extends to digital financial assets (DFAs) and other Russian digital rights, including utilitarian and hybrid instruments. Their circulation on open networks would be permitted, a move intended to help issuers attract foreign investment and give investors access to DFAs on terms comparable to crypto assets.

The Bank of Russia aims to complete the legislative framework by July 1, 2026. From July 1, 2027, it plans to introduce liability for illegal activity by crypto intermediaries, aligned with penalties for illegal banking operations.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $87,555, with a 24-hour trading volume of $47 billion, down 3% over the past day.

The price stood about 3% below its seven-day high of $90,069 and roughly 1% above its seven-day low of $87,096. Bitcoin’s circulating supply was 19,965,971 coins out of a maximum supply of 21 million, giving the network a global market capitalization of about $1.75 trillion, down 3% from 24 hours earlier.

This post Russia Opens the Door to Bitcoin and Crypto for Retail Investors first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Russian institutions have responded to a call from а public movement for joint efforts to identify cryptocurrency transfers related to drug trade. The anti-drug organization, Stopnarkotik, recently asked the interior ministry and the central bank to investigate alleged connections between U.S.-sanctioned crypto exchange Suex and a darknet market operating in the region.

Russian Authorities Respond to Stopnarkotik’s Request for Action Against Drug Trade

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (MVD) and Bank of Russia have agreed to cooperate with the All-Russian Public Movement Stopnarkotik on identifying financial flows involving cryptocurrencies obtained as a result of drug sales. The Russian online news portal Lenta.ru reported on the agreement, quoting a letter from a high-ranking MVD official.

The letter signed by Major General Andrei Yanishevsky, head of the Drug Control Department at the Interior Ministry, has been issued after a working meeting with representatives of the anti-drug organization. It comes in response to Stopnarkotik’s call for the two institutions to carry out an investigation focused on Suex, a Russia-based OTC crypto broker, and its links to other companies and banks.

In September, the U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted the Czech-registered entity Suex OTC s.r.o. which operates out of physical offices in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The crypto platform is suspected of processing hundreds of millions of dollars in coin transactions related to scams, ransomware attacks, darknet markets, and the infamous Russian BTC-e exchange.

Since launching in 2018, Suex is believed to have received over $481 million in BTC alone. Close to $13 million came from ransomware operators such as Ryuk, Conti, and Maze, over $24 million was sent by crypto scams like Finiko, $20 million came from mixers, and another $20 million from darknet markets such as the Russia-targeting Hydra, blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis detailed in a report.

In its request to the Russian authorities, following the announcement of the U.S. sanctions, Stopnarkotik noted that Suex had been “involved in money laundering for the largest drug-selling platform.” The organization pointed out that the market’s drug trafficking in the Russian Federation amounts to an estimated $1.5 billion a year or more.

It also mentioned the name of one of Suex’s co-founders and highlighted its alleged connections with other crypto companies and financial institutions such as Exmo, a major digital asset exchange in Eastern Europe, financial services company Qiwi, a leading payment provider in Russia and the CIS countries, as well as the Ukraine-based Concord Bank.

Stopnarkotik asked Bank of Russia to provide its assessment on the matter, check if the operations of Suex and other entities are being conducted in accordance with the law in Russia, and consider blocking Russian payments to a Ukrainian organization.

“We received a response from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Central Bank. We also had a personal meeting with the Ministry of Internal Affairs so that they had an understanding of how we receive information, including about money laundering,” the movement’s chairman, Sergei Polozov, has been quoted as saying. He added that the Russian Interior Ministry is ready to accept Stopnarkotik’s data and work together with the organization.

Do you expect the cooperation between Stopnarkotik and Russian government institutions to develop further? Tell us in the comments section below.