The National Association of Securities Market Participants, better known as NAUFOR, has won self-regulatory organization (SRO) status for digital depositories and crypto exchanges. The Central Bank of Russia, the country's financial markets regulator, issued the decision on October 29, according to Interfax.

The move turns a law into a working system. Russia's framework, "On Digital Currency and Digital Rights," passed the State Duma in July. It requires exchange operators and depositories to sit in central bank registries, and it obliges them to join an SRO.

Interfax reports that the registry lists 23 crypto exchanges and eight digital depositories, including VTB, Sberbank, and units of T-Technologies, the holding company behind T-Bank. Firms on those registries have 90 days to join an SRO. In short, an SRO writes industry standards, monitors its members, and represents the industry to regulators.

NAUFOR says it will help shape standards for digital asset markets and push the central bank on rule changes. Earlier in October, it received the same status for information system operators. The association has operated since 1996 and counts 725 members, including brokers, dealers, and fund managers from traditional markets. The immediate implementation points are the 90-day SRO deadline and the standards NAUFOR develops for the registered firms; those steps will show how the new legal framework is applied in practice.

JUST IN: Russia's central bank approved NAUFOR as a self-regulatory body for crypto exchanges and custodians. Russia's new crypto law requires all registered crypto firms to join a self-regulatory organization within the next 90 days. pic.twitter.com/pchpFYg6KP
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) October 29, 2026

Russia's crypto legal gateway

NAUFOR's model was built in traditional finance for stocks and bonds. Placing the same body over bitcoin exchanges and custody gives the state a familiar hand on the wheel.

As Bitcoin Magazine reported in July, the law stops bitcoin from becoming money for everyday purchases. Domestic crypto payments remain banned. The legislation licenses exchanges and depositories, caps retail purchases, and opens a state-supervised channel for cross-border trade — a route that helps Russia move around Western sanctions.

The details matter for users. A depository would record holdings, and one reading of the framework allows it to restrict transfers to personal wallets. Non-qualified retail buyers can purchase up to 300,000 rubles per year through a single intermediary, roughly $3,800. Qualified investors face higher ceilings. These choices shape who can use the platforms, and how.

Earlier this fall, the Moscow Exchange reportedly began testing cryptocurrency trading with professional market participants and planned to launch trading this December. The exchange intended to use its existing infrastructure and a partner digital depository following the introduction of Russia's new cryptocurrency regulations in September.

Sberbank has also received approval to custody Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, while President Vladimir Putin has previously acknowledged Bitcoin's resistance to being banned.

This article, "Russia Approves Securities Group to Oversee Crypto Exchanges," first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.