Here’s What the Law Now Says

A Major Reform Is Underway

Russia’s parliamentary Committee on Financial Markets has approved the final version of the country’s sweeping digital currency bill, clearing the path for its second reading in the State Duma. The committee, chaired by lawmaker Anatoly Aksakov, signed off on a package of amendments that softens some of the draft’s most contentious surveillance provisions while keeping the state firmly in control of who may buy and sell crypto assets.

The most notable change removes mandatory reporting of crypto wallet addresses. Under the revised text, holders must declare only balances and transaction flows, not the addresses themselves, a shift that follows months of pressure from lawmakers and industry groups who argued the original requirements went too far. The amendments also explicitly permit the legal purchase of digital currencies, anchoring a right that earlier drafts left ambiguous.

Bill No. 1194918-8, titled “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights,” passed its first reading with 327 of 340 deputies voting in favor. The second and third readings are now tentatively scheduled for July 21, according to Aksakov, who has said the law is expected to enter into force on September 1.

What the Law Would Do

The legislation sets out a comprehensive framework governing how cryptocurrencies can be issued, traded, and stored in Russia, marking the country’s most ambitious attempt yet to bring a largely gray market under state supervision. Digital currencies and stablecoins would be recognized as monetary assets that can be bought and sold, though they remain barred from use in domestic payments.

The framework dovetails with rules from the Bank of Russia, the country’s central bank, which plans to restrict retail investors to bitcoin, ether, and the USDT stablecoin. Ordinary Russians would face an annual purchase cap of 300,000 rubles (less than $4,000) along with mandatory risk testing before they can trade. Additional rules needed to fully legalize coin transactions are expected by November, with the first regulated crypto operations projected to begin in early 2027.

Lastly, lawmakers have pushed to allow withdrawals of digital assets to non-custodial wallets, which the current version of the legislation does not permit. Without that ability, one argument runs, “the owner’s right to dispose of their property is effectively limited.”

A Two-Track Digital Strategy

The crypto bill is advancing alongside Russia’s other flagship digital money project, with the Bank of Russia confirming a September 1 rollout for the digital ruble, its central bank digital currency ( CBDC). On the development, Governor Elvira Nabiullina stated that “everything is ready” and that all 12 major pilot banks are connected. Large retailers with annual revenue above 120 million rubles must accept digital ruble payments from the same date.

The parallel timelines are no accident, given that Moscow is racing to modernize its financial rails as sanctions continue to squeeze access to Western payment networks, and earlier drafts of the crypto framework drew attention for provisions supporting cross-border crypto payments.

Legalized, supervised crypto trading gives the state a channel for external settlement, while the digital ruble extends control over domestic money flows, even as reports point to weak public demand for the CBDC so far.