Russia Passes Crypto Law With $3,800 Retail Cap and Foreign-Trade Carveout

Russia’s parliament approved the country’s first comprehensive cryptocurrency law on Tuesday, setting strict limits on how ordinary citizens can buy digital assets while opening a channel for companies to settle international trade in crypto, according to state news agency TASS. Most provisions take effect September 1, TASS reported.

Only firms in a special registry will be permitted to run exchanges, though existing operators have until July 1, 2027 to comply, TASS reported.

Meanwhile, retail buyers or non-qualified investors can buy only the most liquid cryptocurrencies through licensed intermediaries, with annual purchases capped at 300,000 rubles, or roughly $3,800, at each intermediary, according to the report. Qualified investors face no such ceiling. However, both groups must pass testing first.

The law keeps Russia’s long-standing ban on paying for goods and services domestically with crypto, and bars advertising such payments. But it carves out an exception for settlements under foreign trade contracts between residents and non-residents.

That carveout follows the European Union’s April sanctions package, which specifically targeted Russian crypto activity after the bloc warned that “Russia is becoming increasingly reliant on cryptocurrencies for international transactions.”

Russia had been moving toward formal crypto rules for months, with the central bank laying out the framework in December.

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