Daily crypto activity in Russia has climbed to about $647 million (50 billion rubles), said Ivan Chebeskov, Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister, at the Alfa Talk conference “Digital Financial Assets: New Market Architecture.”
Officials estimate that this equates to more than $129 billion (10 trillion rubles) in yearly turnover, much of which currently operates outside formal oversight.
The Bank of Russia has proposed a framework to legalize crypto transactions through existing exchanges and brokers, with regulations expected to be adopted during the State Duma’s spring session.
Lawmakers aim to submit a draft bill to the State Duma in March, targeting approval by July 1 to bring exchanges under regulatory supervision.
Adoption of digital assets in Russia accelerated after Western sanctions imposed following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine restricted access to conventional financial channels. The country now ranks as Europe’s largest crypto market by transaction volume, according to Chainalysis.
Proposed regulations would categorize Bitcoin and fiat-pegged stablecoins as “currency assets,” enabling licensed financial institutions to offer related services while penalizing unlicensed operators.