Russia’s crypto industry could begin operating under a legal framework by the end of the year, according to central bank deputy governor Vladimir Chistyukhin, who said regulatory work is progressing on schedule as the country moves to implement its new digital asset rules.

Chistyukhin said the regulatory process is on track after President Vladimir Putin signed a law in August covering digital currencies and digital rights. The current push is focused on the supporting rules needed to put that law into operation. He also said those subordinate regulations are significant and may continue to be refined through the end of 2026.

Under the framework described so far, bitcoin payments remain banned inside Russia, preserving a separation between crypto as an investment or asset class and crypto as a domestic payment tool. At the same time, the central bank has approved public bitcoin trading on crypto exchanges under defined conditions. Unqualified investors would be able to buy up to 300,000 rubles of bitcoin through one intermediary, while qualified investors would not face the same purchase limit.

Sberbank is preparing to expand into the sector with a bitcoin and crypto wallet, as well as digital asset custody services, by December. The bank expects trading volume of 4 trillion rubles in the first year of operations. That would make traditional financial institutions central to Russia’s attempt to move crypto activity into regulated channels.

Russia has prohibited the use of digital assets for payment since 2022, even as officials continued debating how to regulate ownership, trading, and cross-border use. Lawmakers have since allowed exceptions for international payments, creating a distinction between domestic restrictions and external settlement use.

Why It Matters

Russia is not simply deciding whether to permit crypto. It is building a state-supervised market in which banks, exchanges, and custodians could become the main access points. That matters because it shifts crypto activity from a largely offshore or gray area into a regulated domestic structure, with the central bank defining who can participate and under what limits.

The policy also carries broader geopolitical weight. By keeping domestic crypto payments restricted while allowing room for international settlement use, Russia appears to be treating digital assets as a controlled financial infrastructure tool rather than an open payments alternative. That makes the rollout relevant not only for local market development, but also for cross-border settlement policy under sanctions pressure.