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A set of fresh regulatory laws have swept the Russian financial market beginning on September
1st. The Russian state Duma has put forth a framework of many different judicial practices and
regulations which will ensure the legality of the possession over digital currency as well as its
safety in practical use. The framework covered changes in crypto trading, holdings and
international settlements. Thus bringing a new era of financial, digital practices into the new
stage and under new oversight.
One of the key new methodics in crypto practices is the distinction between qualified and
non-qualified investors. Moreover the Bank of Russia is now the overseer of the conditions
which guide the conduct of any form of qualified investor or a retail market operated using
cryptocurrency.
Experiment rules which have acted as the temporary guidelines for an uncontrollable digital
currency market, which tightly ties with the world of finance and consumer services, have now
been completely overwritten by the new legal framework. Designed specifically to nurture the
domestic market of digital currency exchange as well as crypto related business operating
around foreign market shifts.
The broad goal is simple: make sure that the Russian financial market is suitable for foreign
influenced currency as well as the security which is now needed for a digital asset based branch
of the economy.
As previously mentioned the investors are now divided into two groups, the qualified and the
non-qualified. Those that have passed a mandatory examination, based on education,
experience and competence, will be allowed to trade without a limit on how much
cryptocurrency they may have. Translated into rubles, it comes out to around 300,000 rubles
worth of digital assets.
This monetary restriction influences only the non-qualified investors, meaning a regular citizen,
forcing the people of Russia to choose any of the numerous brokerages, custody platforms or
settlement groups in order to trade above that threshold.
The limiting limit cannot be bypassed by simply moving the assets into different brokerages.
Such practice is prohibited and will result in the nullification of the brokers or trading platforms
rights to continue their operation. As well as the annulment of their qualified status, which they
may only receive by presenting their personal backgrounds and passing the mandatory
examination before the commission.
Qualified crypto retailers are not restricted to the threshold set for regular, non-qualified traders.
However they are still faced with a number of challenges as well as regulations, imported with
the new framework of digital finance. For instance, so far it is known that the only candidates for
legislative practice are the Tether’s USDT, Either and Bitcoin. However this may still be
absolved. Additionally, it is known that the currency must have at least five years of pricing
history on the market, whether it is domestic or foreign, it must have a significant daily trading
volume and high market capitalization.
Requirements for Financial Institutions
The quota for qualification was lightened right before the laws were officially put into place. On
August 31st, the mandatory test was officially instated as the minimum requirement for
becoming a qualified investor or trading apparatus. Moreover, it is also eligible to use the
traditional qualifying attributes like personal income, total asset liquidity, suitable education and
personal experience in the field of trading. However the constant is that the qualified investor
must possess an official Russian certificate.
Crypto exchanges have a major role to play in the bureaucratic coordination of the digital
financial market. Their responsibility lies in the work of confirming the acquiring eligibility of a
digital holding, processing sales and purchases, regulating the trading procedures on financial
crypto platforms, and balancing the measured average prices for listed assets with comparison
to official market calculations. Meanwhile, an exchange operator must maintain at least 15
million rubles in overall equity, and become a member of an approved financial market
self-regulatory organization. They will be recorded by the central bank’s official register.
An even higher capitalization requirement is set for the depositories of digital assets. Their
minimum equity ranges from 50 to 250 million rubles, depending on the scope of their
handlings, whether it is distributed ledger record keeping or a full scale post-trade settlement
services.
Affected businesses have until July 1st, 2027 to acquire the required licenses and set their
operations in complete compliance with the new laws. Regular brokers and managing
companies may facilitate transactions through recognised trading platforms.
Major financial institutions did not wait for the deadline to get started. Sberbank has been
developing a comprehensive crypto infrastructure covering trading, custody, settlement, and
depository functions for eligible clients. Meanwhile, Alfa-Bank tested cryptocurrency trading
capabilities through its Alfa-Investments brokerage app with a select group of qualified
investors.
Sberbank has already begun preparing by creating and developing a sophisticatedly functional
cryptocurrency infrastructure needed for trading, custody, settlements and depository services.
Alfa-investments, with the help of its parent company Alfa-Bank has tested its cryptocurrency
trading capabilities using a selected group of qualified investors.
Domestic Restrictions and International Payments
Cryptocurrencies are legislatively banned for usage in paying for domestic services and goods
and services within Russia. The rubles still remains the only mandated payment asset for all
domestic commerce. International transactions are however more flexible when it comes to
restrictions and hence legal treatment. The government of Russia recognizes the strains put on
them by the rest of the world and the hurdles which come with them, so it has authorized
businesses to use crypto in order to conduct any trade settlements or regulate the influx of
foreign currency. No transaction limits were put onto the processes behind non-domestic digital
trade.
International payments may be handled through licensed and certified intermediaries which
were approved by the Bank of Russia, and have gained their qualified statuses. Additionally, in
the case of foreign trade, the usage of multiple wallets and tokens is encouraged to form a more
extensive network of monetary circulation.
Regular citizens may also use foreign bank accounts in order to conduct international crypto
transactions. Domestically purchased digital assets can be transferred overseas using regulated
intermediaries, although foreign holdings are still required to report their inner circulatory
processes to the Russian tax authorities. While the lawmakers have held back on the
requirement of crypto owners regulations which subjected them to extra supervision under the
demand of registering their individual wallet addresses with the state. Instead, the overall
reporting consists primarily of account balances and the volume of a transaction.
For now it is known that additional regulations and changes to the structure of the law and its
general framework will be rolling out until 2028. Meanwhile the laws concerning international
trade and its further restrictions and appliances will take effect on July 1st, 2027. A major known
change by that date is to be the law which states that exchange listed crypto must count up
towards 25% of the professional financial market participants’ resilience reserves, provided that
it is stored legally.
