The Cryptocurrency Law Has Been in Effect for a Month. What Has Changed?

A month has passed since the introduction of cryptocurrency regulation in Russia, and the legal market has already taken on clearer outlines in this short time. Since the beginning of autumn, regulators have presented some clarifying rules, and lawmakers have proposed new initiatives to develop existing norms. The first organizations have submitted applications for licenses.

Many issues regarding crypto regulation still require further development and the introduction of subordinate legislation. Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia, Vladimir Chistyukhin, previously reported that 27 regulatory acts need to be adopted for the full launch of the new regulation. Seven of them have been classified as a priority by the regulator, and another 20 are planned to be approved by the end of October.

Registration of Cryptocurrency Intermediaries

On September 23, the Central Bank defined the procedure for allowing digital depositories, crypto exchanges, and operators of information systems that issue digital rights (OIS) to enter the cryptocurrency market. It also approved the list of documents that need to be submitted for registration in the Central Bank's registers.

These rules came into effect on October 5. By midday, major banks had already reported the submission of documents. Earlier, the Bank of Russia noted that a simplified admission process had been introduced for such organizations, and their applications could be processed in one day, making it possible for the first legal market participants to appear as early as October 6.

T-Bank reported to RBC-Crypto that companies from the T-Technologies group had already submitted documents to the Bank of Russia for permission to operate in the crypto market. In particular, the Atomize platform submitted documents for inclusion in the register of digital depositories, while T-Invest Lab applied for the register of crypto exchanges.

Sberbank has applied for the status of a digital depository, TASS reported. Sberbank clarified that initially, operations would involve Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the stablecoin USDT, with all functionality appearing in the existing services of Sberbank Online, Sber Investments, and Sber Business.

The financial group Finam had previously expressed its desire to become one of the leading participants in the Russian crypto market. VTB and Alfa-Bank have also been actively preparing to work with cryptocurrency.

Self-Regulatory Organizations for Cryptocurrency Exchanges

The new law mandates that crypto exchanges must be members of a specialized self-regulatory organization (SRO). The goal of such organizations will be to form a unified position of exchanges in dialogue with the Bank of Russia and other authorities and to develop standards for market participants.

The first candidate for SRO status appeared last summer. It became the Association of Organizations Engaged in the Exchange of Digital Currency (AOCE). NAUFOR has also submitted documents to the Bank of Russia to obtain SRO status for digital depositories and crypto exchanges.

At the end of September, the Central Bank expressed hope for the disappearance of gray crypto exchanges by 2027. The head of the Financial Monitoring and Currency Control Service of the Bank of Russia, Bogdan Shablya, stated that illegal exchanges are a source of funds of "unknown origin" and urged banks not to allow the legalization of funds through them, carefully checking transactions.

Limits for "Non-Qualified" Investors

Back in early August, the Bank of Russia published a draft regulation proposing to allow non-qualified investors to invest only in three cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT) up to 300,000 rubles per year through one intermediary. Experts believe this is the "starting settings for the market"; after analyzing the operation in this format, the regulator will be able to more accurately assess the adequacy of these restrictions and decide on their modification if necessary.

The public discussion of this draft regulation has already been completed. It is currently undergoing state registration with the Ministry of Justice of Russia.

Declaration of Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies are recognized as property, and residents must declare them to the Federal Tax Service. They must also notify tax authorities about the existence of cryptocurrencies held abroad—on non-custodial crypto wallets or foreign exchanges.

The draft law on tax regulation of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets was approved by the State Duma in the first reading back in June. It is currently in the stage of preparation for the second reading. The responsible Duma committee on budget and taxes also proposed to endow crypto exchanges with the functions of a tax agent within the framework of the document.

For its part, the Bank of Russia proposed at the end of September to require financial organizations, starting July 1, 2027, to indicate clients' cryptocurrencies in certificates for anti-corruption declarations. Such certificates are issued by banks to citizens, for example, civil servants, for income and property reports.

Other Initiatives

In September, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) proposed to expand the ban on mining cryptocurrencies for energy companies. According to the initiative, energy companies will not only be prohibited from mining but also from becoming operators of mining infrastructure, meaning they cannot provide hosting or other services for miners.

At the end of September, the Federation Council proposed that the Ministry of Justice consider the use of cryptocurrency as collateral. The goal is to develop the circulation of digital assets. This is expected to increase economic activity, according to the Federation Council.