Putin Signs Russia's First Crypto Law: Trading Is Legal, Payments Stay Banned
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- Putin signed Russia's first comprehensive crypto law on Tuesday, wrapping exchanges, digital depositories, brokers, clearing houses, and mining into one framework, per state news agency Tass.
- Crypto exchanges in Russia must register on a government list by July 1, 2027, carry at least 15 million rubles (~$187,000) in own capital, and join a financial-market self-regulatory body.
- Crypto payments for goods and services remain explicitly banned under the new law, as is advertising such payments; Russia legalized crypto mining separately in 2024.
- Retail investors face a 300,000 ruble/year purchase cap per licensed intermediary and must pass a knowledge test; qualified investors face no limit, with most provisions effective September 1.
- A foreign-trade carve-out lets Russian residents and nonresidents settle cross-border contracts using crypto, preserving the channel Moscow has leaned on as sanctions pressure built — the part the source flags Western regulators will watch most closely.
- Crypto holders gain court protection regardless of whether they previously declared their assets, and the framework aligns with Russia's central-bank digital ruble push, which banks must support by the same September 1 date.
Why it matters: Russia now has a central bank-supervised crypto trading pipeline with a $187,000 capital floor effective September 1, while a foreign-trade settlement carve-out preserves the cross-border channel Moscow has leaned on under sanctions pressure — handing the state a monitored on-ramp and giving holders legal standing they previously lacked.
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