The Russian State Duma has approved a landmark crypto regulation bill on first reading, officially legalizing digital assets for international settlements. The move is a direct legislative response to Western sanctions that have cut off major Russian banks from the global payments infrastructure, including the SWIFT system.
The bill passed its first reading within a framework based on the Russian Central Bank’s regulatory concept published in late December 2025, accelerating years of intermittent policy discussions to turn it into concrete law.
The scope of this law is vast; Russian exporters and importers trying to move goods in an estimated $240 billion in trade volume and facing payment difficulties now have a legal pathway to settle their contracts using digital currencies. The Kremlin is building an alternative financial path, and the structure of that path is now visible for the first time.
The question the market should be asking is not whether this bill will become law, which it almost certainly will, but rather how quickly OFAC will act to close the corridor opened by this law.
Highlights:
- Voting stage: Russian Duma Passes Crypto Regulation Bill in First Reading; The ordinance requires two additional readings in addition to the approval of the Federal Council and the signature of the President before entering into force.
- Basic legitimacy: The law allows Russian companies to use digital assets in international cross-border settlements, while domestic commerce as a means of payment remains prohibited.
- Investor categories: Non-qualified individual investors face an annual purchase limit of 300,000 rubles (approximately 3,800 US dollars) via any single medium; Qualified investors face no size restrictions.
- Asset Eligibility: Only cryptocurrencies with a market value greater than… 5 trillion rubles (US$66.6 billion) It has a five-year trading history, and Bitcoin and Ethereum are expected to be the first approved currencies.
- Calendar: Trading can begin through licensed platforms in July 1, 2026; While unlicensed platforms will be completely banned from July 1, 2027.
- observation point: The Duma’s competition protection committee has already warned of the dangers of excessive regulation, and additional amendments are expected before final approval.
What Russian Crypto Law Allows and What It Deliberately Prohibits
The central provision of Russia’s proposed crypto law draws a clear dividing line: cryptocurrencies are legal for international trade settlements, not for buying coffee in Moscow. Domestic trade as a means of payment remains excluded, addressing the Bank of Russia’s long-standing concerns about monetary sovereignty and capital flight.
The tiered investor structure is the most operationally significant national element of the law; Non-qualified individual participants are limited to a maximum of 300,000 rubles per year through any licensed broker. On the other hand, qualified investors, banks, professional traders and high net worth individuals are not subject to any cap.
The Bank of Russia is at the heart of the supervisory architecture, issuing platform licenses, approving or blocking transactions and having exclusive authority to determine which digital assets can be legally traded within the Russian-licensed infrastructure.
Asset eligibility criteria are intentionally narrow; Only digital currencies with a market value of more than 5 trillion rubles and a documented trading history of five years pass the test. Bitcoin and Ethereum are the obvious first qualifiers, a provision that acts as de facto law for Bitcoin and Ethereum with room for future expansion. The government also aims to achieve tax parity between digital asset investors and traditional bond holders, a sign that Moscow views regulated crypto participation as a legitimate asset class and not a gray area to be tolerated.
Bitcoin Mining and Local Compliance: What Russian Operators Face Now
In addition to the framework of international regulations, the bill introduces the first formal regulatory structure for Bitcoin mining on Russian territory. Minors, whether individuals or industrial companies, must register according to a compulsory system; Working outside of this register will be considered unlicensed activity once the deadline of July 1, 2027 is reached.
The federal government retains explicit authority to ban mining operations in areas experiencing power shortages, a provision intended to protect the national power grid during peak periods. Russia’s cryptocurrency mining sector has grown significantly since China’s 2021 mining ban, and unregulated electricity withdrawal has become a documented concern for infrastructure in Siberia and the Far East.
Uzbekistan’s approach, which grants a 10-year tax holiday in a designated special zone with mandatory renewable energy requirements, offers a contrasting model for how post-Soviet countries compete for mining capital.
The State Duma’s Competition Protection Committee has expressed concern that overly stringent licensing requirements could have the opposite effect, leaving Russian miners and crypto companies in the same gray economy that the law was intended to eliminate. The second reading should be the battleground for these specific implementation thresholds.
The post Russia Legalizes Bitcoin for International Trade to Face Western Sanctions appeared first on Cryptonews Arabic.
