Central Bank of Russia Establishes Rules for Cryptocurrency Trading

Updated: 2026-07-27

The new initiatives from the Bank of Russia confirm that the state is not simply legalizing the industry but is imposing strict rules on the sector. The published draft regulatory acts paint a picture of a future where the rules of the game are dictated by financial monopolists.

The first step toward this monopolization is establishing control over the trading itself. The regulator has prepared the groundwork for organized trading of digital currencies, where all conditions will be dictated by an exchange appointed from above. This privileged platform will receive the right to define the operational regime and officially calculate the market and weighted average value of assets.

The Central Bank is introducing the institution of so-called digital depositories. As evident from the published requirements for these structures, the market entry threshold has skyrocketed from 50 to 250 million rubles, depending on whether the company works with open blockchains or only facilitates settlement after trading. Importantly, these substantial funds must be highly liquid assets of impeccable credit quality.

It is obvious that no independent crypto startup can meet such conditions. The market is being deliberately cleared for intermediaries in the form of banking giants. Precisely the same prohibitive barriers have been erected for operators of electronic platforms that will conduct settlements for digital financial assets through nominal accounts.

An industry that grew on the principles of privacy will now face serious oversight. In the regulatory act on accounting rules, the regulator meticulously prescribes requirements for opening digital accounts and the set of information that must be collected about each client and their assets. The digital depository becomes a supervisor operating according to the templates of the securities market, where every step is recorded in a database. To ensure the system operates without failures, the Bank of Russia has reserved the exclusive right to maintain the register of such authorized depositories.

An industry that once gave every person with small capital the opportunity to become part of the global economy is transforming into a closed, elite club. In caring for the creation of a 'legal arena,' the Central Bank is essentially depriving ordinary crypto enthusiasts of the very advantages that brought them to this market.