Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law the recently adopted “digital currency” bill, legalizing crypto transactions in Russia.

The long-awaited legislation establishes Russia’s first comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets and is set to enter into force in September.

Putin gives the go-ahead to Russia’s crypto regulations

Russia’s head of state has signed the law “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights,” giving Moscow the green light for its main attempt to comprehensively regulate cryptocurrency operations.

The nearly 300-page document, which passed through both houses of parliament last month, is now available on the Russian government’s official portal for legal acts, local media reported on Tuesday.

The bill was submitted in April, when lawmakers voted on the proposal for the first time, before it was finally adopted by the State Duma on July 21 and approved by the Federation Council on July 24.

Although the original plan was to introduce the law earlier in the summer, it will now take effect on September 1, 2026, after a delay caused by the need to fine-tune some of its provisions.

The legislation legalizes and regulates key cryptocurrency transactions in Russia, including investment and trading activity, while banning others, such as direct crypto payments.

It also sets rules for investors and a range of market participants, including dedicated platforms and traditional financial institutions that will be allowed to work with digital assets.

These include established stock exchanges and exchange offices offering basic non-cash crypto-to-fiat conversion, as well as custodians, clearing houses, banks, and other intermediaries.

Under the law, trading in digital coins will take place exclusively through platforms licensed by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), marking a shift from an environment where crypto use had existed in a more limited legal gray area.

A new category of service providers, called digital depositories, along with existing stock market depositories, will be responsible for the safekeeping and accounting of crypto holdings.

Those institutions must be registered with the monetary authority and meet strict capital requirements ranging from 50 million to 250 million rubles, or more than $3 million, depending on their activities.

These custodial platforms will also be required to maintain full transaction records and screen client transfers for suspicious movement of funds in the digital space.

Financial brokers and capital management firms will act as intermediaries between Russian investors and cryptocurrency platforms, including those based abroad.

Most Russians to gain limited access to cryptocurrencies

One of the law’s biggest changes concerns crypto users in Russia. For the first time, they will be able to legally acquire and own Bitcoin and other digital assets, although only under restrictions.

All investors will have to undergo testing to assess their knowledge of these assets and the risks involved, while access will remain limited for non-professional participants.

Ordinary citizens, or “non-qualified investors,” will be allowed to purchase only a few of the largest cryptocurrencies on the market, Russian business and crypto news outlets reported.

They will be permitted to buy no more than 300,000 rubles’ worth of crypto per year, or less than $4,000, through a single intermediary, according to RBC and Bits.media.

For most people in Russia, cryptocurrency will mainly function as an investment instrument, since its use for payments remains strictly prohibited and the ruble is still the only legal tender.

A survey published this week found that nearly 70% of Russians see no significant use cases for cryptocurrency despite its upcoming legalization.

Only purely custodial wallets opened with authorized institutions may be used to receive, store, and send digital money inside the Russian Federation.

Self-hosted wallets may be used by those involved in foreign economic activities, allowing them to conduct international trade and bypass fiat sanctions. Their use abroad will not be restricted.

Banks to be able to block crypto transactions

Russian banks will be authorized to block any crypto-related transaction, and a 48-hour “cooling-off” period will apply to transfers between cryptocurrency wallets and from those wallets to fiat accounts.

Only coins with the largest market capitalization, sufficient liquidity, and a long enough pricing history will be allowed to circulate freely through exchanges active in Russia’s regulated crypto market.

According to an earlier statement by CBR Deputy Governor Vladimir Chistyukhin, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Tether’s USDT currently meet those criteria.

The legislation does not explicitly mention stablecoins, but it supplements the existing Russian law “On Digital Financial Assets” from 2021, which covers tokenized securities and coins issued in the country.

After July 1, 2027, cryptocurrency transactions carried out by Russian residents and firms must be conducted exclusively through licensed intermediaries.

Additional regulations will still be needed, and the Bank of Russia has already published draft directives outlining specific rules for crypto exchange, storage, and margin trading.