Russia passes crypto law with $3,800 retail cap
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- Russia's State Duma passed the country's first comprehensive cryptocurrency law, creating a legal framework for crypto exchanges, depositories, and other digital asset providers, with most rules taking effect Sept. 1.
- The new law restricts crypto trading to entities in a special registry—though firms may continue operating without registration until July 1, 2027—and requires banks to refuse transfers suspected of funding unauthorized crypto exchanges.
- Retail investors may buy the most liquid cryptocurrencies through licensed intermediaries but face an annual cap of roughly $3,800 per intermediary; qualified investors face no purchase restrictions.
- The legislation guarantees judicial protection for digital currency holders regardless of whether assets were previously declared, while maintaining Russia's longstanding ban on using crypto for domestic goods-and-services payments and barring banks from advertising such use.
- The law carves out exceptions permitting digital currencies for foreign trade settlements between Russian residents and non-residents, transactions involving mined crypto, and payments required by digital asset platforms—effectively building a sanctioned-friendly cross-border rail.
- The framework follows the EU's April sanctions package specifically targeting Russian crypto activity, which included a complete ban on providers and platforms established in Russia; the EU stated Russia is "becoming increasingly reliant on cryptocurrencies for international transactions."
Why it matters: Russian retail crypto buyers get a binding ~$3,800/year ceiling per intermediary while qualified investors and corporate entities transact freely, sharply narrowing ordinary citizens' access. The simultaneous ban on domestic crypto payments alongside legal carve-outs for foreign trade settlements signals the law is less about opening markets and more about giving Moscow a compliant channel to move value around Western sanctions.
