The head of Russia’s lower house of the country’s parliament said on Thursday that the rules for the crypto market will be ready in June this year and will take effect on July 1, 2027.
Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, said that qualified and unqualified investors will be allowed to buy cryptocurrencies, although under separate rules, according to the Duma’s official news outlet.
A cap will be in place on retail investors’ crypto purchases, with the figure of 300,000 rubles ($4,000) being discussed, he added.
Qualified investors will also be required to undergo mandatory testing to ensure they understand the risks of cryptocurrency transactions, but they will be able to purchase all crypto assets in unlimited quantities, with the exception of anonymous ones.
Aksakov also said that the crypto market framework will include sanctions for illegal activities of intermediaries in the cryptocurrency, similar to sanctions for illegal banking activities.
Russia’s central bank unveiled a proposed framework in December that would legalize and regulate cryptocurrency trading for both individuals and institutions, continuing its softening stance toward cryptocurrencies. However, it continues to warn that investing in crypto carries risks, including potential losses. The central bank also said that digital currencies and stablecoins are recognized as monetary assets, but they cannot be used for domestic payments.
Aksakov said that cryptocurrency miners will be allowed to “legalize themselves as much as possible. We plan to establish administrative, financial and, quite possibly, criminal liability for illegal activity in this market in separate legislation.”
The parliamentary news release included comments from a lawyer who said the central bank will be tasked with compiling a list of the top five to 10 cryptocurrencies allowed for trading. “These will definitely include BTC and ETH. They may also add SOL or TON, given their popularity in our country. The rest is only for qualified investors,” the expert said.
“The Central Bank explicitly says: you cannot buy coins that hide their intended recipients,” such as “monero zcash and hyphen. After all, if you cannot construct a transaction graph and see where the money came from, such an asset will not pass AML (anti-money laundering) checks.
