Russia Drafts First Rules for Crypto Exchanges and Depositories
The Bank of Russia published a package of draft regulations on July 27 setting out how a licensed domestic crypto market would operate. The proposals cover exchange rules, price reporting, digital ownership records and capital requirements for specialized custodians.
Key Takeaways
- Exchanges would publish standardized crypto prices.
- Custodians would face capital rules from 50m to 250m rubles.
- Customer ownership would enter formal records.
- Crypto and domestic DFAs remain legally distinct.
- The regulations are still in draft form.
According to the central bank’s announcement, the drafts are meant to support trading under Russia’s newly adopted digital-currency law. Publication does not open a market, however. Exchanges, banks and custody providers still need final regulations, licences and functioning backend systems before they can serve investors.
How Regulated Crypto Trading Works Under the Drafts
Each approved exchange sets the rules governing its own digital-asset market. It also calculates and publishes a market price and a volume-weighted average price for every admitted cryptocurrency or digital right.
Standardized pricing gives brokers, custodians and investors a common reference for valuing positions inside Russia, and reduces reliance on prices copied from unrelated offshore platforms. Trading quality will still depend on liquidity, spreads and the number of active participants.
The proposals require exchanges to report market information to the Bank of Russia, and allow them to suspend an asset when custody operations are blocked or material events affect the instrument. These controls bring crypto trading closer to the model already used in regulated securities markets.
Custodians Would Record Customer Ownership
Trades require more than an exchange matching buyers and sellers. Specialized providers would maintain the legal record showing which customer owns each cryptocurrency or digital right.
The blockchain may show a large balance held at an institutional address while the custodian’s internal books divide that balance between individual clients. Account statements, transfers and ownership disputes would therefore depend partly on those records, which creates reliance on the provider’s cybersecurity, accounting controls and ability to reconcile customer balances against assets held on-chain or through foreign custodians.
For investors who prefer not to manage private keys, the model simplifies recovery procedures and compliance checks.
Capital Requirements Rise With the Risk
The draft capital regulation starts at 50 million rubles (approximately $640,000) for a standard custody provider.
The minimum rises to 100 million rubles (approximately $1.27 million) when a company controls blockchain addresses or holds accounts with foreign digital-asset custodians. A settlement provider responsible for obligations arising from exchange trading needs 250 million rubles (approximately $3.2 million).
The tiers reflect the risk each business carries. Controlling wallet addresses or settling trades exposes a company to greater operational and custody losses than maintaining simpler ownership records.
Providers must calculate their capital regularly and support it with eligible assets. The thresholds may discourage lightly funded entrants and give established banks and financial groups an early advantage.
Cryptocurrencies and Russian DFAs Are Not the Same
Russia already has rules for digital financial assets, or DFAs, tokenized financial claims issued under domestic law. Bitcoin and other decentralized cryptocurrencies fall outside that category.
The new law adds a regulated route for buying and selling digital currencies while expanding how Russian digital rights can circulate. Investors may eventually be able to exchange cryptocurrencies for securities or domestically issued digital instruments through approved intermediaries.
The distinction survives that connection. A DFA generally has an identifiable issuer and defined contractual rights, while assets such as Bitcoin have no company or state standing behind them.
The Drafts Put Russia’s New Crypto Law Into Practice
The State Duma passed the wider law on digital currencies and digital rights on July 21, with the Federation Council approving it three days later. Our earlier report on Russia’s new crypto law covered the investor rules, annual purchase limits and licensing structure established by the legislation.
The law is scheduled to begin taking effect on September 1, 2026, after which market participants have a transition period to obtain licences and bring their operations into compliance.
Legislation establishes who may enter the market. The new drafts cover the practical work of processing trades, calculating prices, recording ownership and maintaining sufficient capital.
Sber’s December Target Gains More Context
Sber plans to have its cryptocurrency trading and custody systems ready by December 1. As explained in our report on Sber’s planned December launch, the bank is preparing both a trading service and the backend needed to record customer rights.
The latest drafts show what those systems may need to handle. Sber would have to connect trading activity with customer accounts, maintain the required financial resources and reconcile its records with assets held on public blockchains or through outside custodians.
December remains a readiness target, not a guaranteed public launch date. Final rules, regulatory approval and customer terms covering supported assets, fees and withdrawals are all still required.
The Framework Arrives as Sanctions Tighten
Russia is building this market while its access to foreign crypto infrastructure narrows.
The European Union’s 21st sanctions package, adopted on July 23, scheduled transaction bans against 14 crypto-related platforms and service providers. As covered in our report on the EU naming HTX and 13 other crypto services, the measures target entities the Council says helped preserve financial channels used by Russia, and the package also created a mechanism for restricting an entire jurisdiction’s crypto sector.
That external pressure gives the domestic framework a second purpose beyond investor protection. A licensed onshore market with approved exchanges, registered custodians and standardized pricing reduces dependence on offshore platforms that sanctions can reach.
Important Investor Protections Remain Unclear
The drafts do not yet identify which cryptocurrencies will qualify for regulated trading. Withdrawal rights to personal wallets, treatment of blockchain forks and airdrops, and the handling of staking rewards also remain unresolved.
Asset segregation will be particularly important. Investors need clear rules establishing whether customer cryptocurrency stays separate from a provider’s own property if the company becomes insolvent.
The same applies to custody failures. Formal ownership records can help resolve disputes, though they cannot replace missing assets if wallets are compromised or internal balances fail to match on-chain holdings.
Russia Is Choosing Financial Gatekeepers
The proposed model places licensed intermediaries at every major stage. Exchanges organize trading, custodians record ownership and the Bank of Russia maintains registers of approved participants.
That structure could make crypto easier to access through banks and regulated brokers while providing clearer records and standardized prices. Investors trade part of the direct control associated with self-custody for those protections.
The framework is still under assessment and may change before adoption. Its final version will determine whether Russia creates a liquid crypto market or a tightly controlled service available mainly through the country’s largest financial institutions.
- Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment or legal advice. The regulations remain in draft form and may change before adoption.
- Methodology: The analysis uses the Bank of Russia’s announcement of July 27, 2026 and its draft capital regulation covering regulated crypto trading, custody providers and eligible capital. Legislative, sanctions and Sber context comes from the linked Coindoo reports. Ruble figures are as stated in the draft regulation; dollar equivalents are approximate and move with the exchange rate.
Alexander Zdravkov is a market analyst and crypto journalist with interests in economics, broader financial markets and digital assets. His journey into crypto began more than four years ago, driven by a fascination with the rapid evolution of blockchain technology and the transformative potential of decentralized finance. He began analyzing market cycles and identifying emerging trends before they reach the mainstream. He holds a degree in International Relations - a background that helped shape his broader perspective on global economics, geopolitics, and the interconnected nature of modern financial markets. Whether covering the latest developments in the crypto sector or exploring broader macroeconomic themes, Alexander focuses on giving readers context rather than simply repeating headlines. During his career, he has authored more than 5,000 articles covering cryptocurrencies, traditional finance, and global market developments. His work spans everything from Bitcoin and altcoins to macroeconomic trends influencing risk assets worldwide.
