Crypto in Russia from 1 September: Bank of Russia Registers, INN, Exchange Rules
The basic digital currency law has taken effect, the Bank of Russia is finishing the secondary regulations, and Rosfinmonitoring requires an INN for a digital depository account. We break down what is already in force and what comes later.
In brief: Federal Law No. 282-FZ of 4 August 2026 "On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights" took effect on 1 September 2026. Cryptocurrency is officially recognized as property, payments in it within the country remain banned, and intermediaries — crypto exchangers, digital depositories and trading organizers — must be entered in the Bank of Russia (the central bank) registers. Using a foreign exchange did not in itself become a crime on 1 September: the obligation for residents to work only through licensed intermediaries and the division of investors into qualified and non-qualified take effect on 1 July 2027 — a transition period applies until then. The nearest practical change is a mandatory INN (taxpayer identification number) when opening an account with a Russian digital depository.
What exactly took effect on 1 September 2026
The State Duma passed the law on 21 July 2026 in the second and third readings at once, and the document was signed in early August: it is Federal Law No. 282-FZ of 4 August 2026 "On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights", 290 pages long. Most of its provisions apply from 1 September 2026, with certain articles from 1 September 2027.
The key provisions that took effect on 1 September (per the GARANT.RU analysis and the Bank of Russia press release of 21 July 2026):
- Digital currency is property. It can be bought, sold, gifted and inherited; it is protected as property in disputes and counted in bankruptcy and debt enforcement.
- Paying for goods and services with cryptocurrency inside Russia remains banned. The legal scenarios are investing, holding and foreign trade settlements.
- The conceptual framework and the intermediary framework are now in place. Crypto exchangers, digital depositories and trading organizers receive a status and are entered in the public Bank of Russia registers.
- A transition period for market participants is open — until 1 July 2027. That date is tied to the ban on organizing the circulation of digital currency without special status, banks blocking transfers to illegal exchangers, the obligation for residents to transact only through licensed intermediaries, and the division of investors into qualified and non-qualified.
Restrictions for non-qualified investors — the limit and the list of assets — were not yet in force as of 14 September 2026: they are described in draft Bank of Russia ordinances. More in the next section.
The RUB 300,000 limit and the list of coins: draft status
On 21 July 2026 the Bank of Russia described its model for admitting retail investors, and on 11 August it published a draft ordinance with the parameters. Under it, a non-qualified investor, after testing, will be able to buy digital currency for no more than RUB 300,000 a year through a single intermediary, and the list of assets for public circulation is limited to bitcoin, ether and Tether USDT.
Two clarifications that are important not to lose:
- Comments on the draft were accepted until 24 August 2026; the final version had not been approved as of 14 September — the specific parameters may still change.
- These rules will apply no earlier than 1 July 2027, together with the provisions on dividing investors into categories.
A separate criterion concerns exchangers: systematic exchange is defined as two or more transactions a month totaling more than RUB 3.5 million. Miners sell mined currency abroad through regulated intermediaries rather than directly.
The Bank of Russia registers: how they work
On 28 July 2026 the Bank of Russia published draft regulations — three ordinances and one regulation — detailing the law. According to Vyberu.ru, the regulator provided for:
- an obligation for trading organizers to calculate the market and weighted-average price of crypto assets and to have a mechanism for halting trading in the event of blocked transactions or corporate events;
- capital requirements for digital depositories — from RUB 50 million to RUB 250 million depending on the riskiness of the business model;
- a ban on counting cryptocurrency itself toward a depository's capital because of volatility: capital is formed from the digital ruble, funds in reliable banks, government securities, shares and gold;
- public lists of licensed crypto exchangers, depositories and platform operators with their details and contacts — so that a client can verify a company's legal status.
According to estimates cited by Kommersant with reference to market participants, the regulations were expected to be adopted by early November 2026 — after which the first transactions by licensed participants become possible.
INN for a crypto account: what Rosfinmonitoring said
On 10 September 2026 Vlada Gracheva, adviser to the director of Rosfinmonitoring, said that a client will be required to provide an INN to open an account with a Russian digital depository. In her words, the client's INN becomes a new mandatory identifier for the anti-money-laundering system.
The detail that makes this news significant: for bank accounts, brokerage agreements and loans, an INN has never been a mandatory requisite — digital depositories will be the first type of financial institution with such a requirement. In parallel, the Bank of Russia is linking INNs to bank accounts within the "Antidrop" platform, scheduled for launch in 2027.
Another layer of control: Rosfinmonitoring receives information on digital currency transactions above RUB 60,000 — with data on the payer and the recipient, including from foreign financial institutions.
What this means for crypto exchanges
For foreign platforms, the law creates no direct obligations — they are outside Russian jurisdiction and are not in the Bank of Russia registers. But the indirect consequences are tangible: as soon as the registers fill up, users will have a legal alternative with transactions transparent to the tax authorities; the RUB 50–250 million capital bar cuts off small players, and the infrastructure will be built by banks and large brokers rather than today's exchangers; "gray" ruble services without register status become more vulnerable to both banks and law enforcement; and finally, from 1 September 2027 the anti-fraud framework kicks in with a cooling-off period for large transfers out of a depository, so it makes sense to build up a transaction history now.
How platforms currently break down by availability and risk is covered in the comparison Which crypto exchanges work in Russia in September 2026.
Calendar: what and when
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 21 July 2026 | The State Duma passes the law in the second and third readings; the Bank of Russia describes its model for admitting retail investors |
| 4 August 2026 | The law is signed: No. 282-FZ "On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights" |
| 11 August 2026 | The Bank of Russia publishes a draft ordinance with the RUB 300,000 annual limit and the list of assets (comments accepted until 24 August) |
| 1 September 2026 | The law takes effect: property status, ban on domestic payments, registers and intermediary status; the transition period begins |
| 1 July 2027 | Ban on organizing circulation without special status; banks block transfers to illegal exchangers; residents work only through licensed intermediaries; the division into qualified and non-qualified investors is introduced together with the retail limit |
| 1 September 2027 | Anti-fraud block: a 48-hour cooling-off period for transfers out of a depository above RUB 100,000 to an external address or above RUB 300,000 to a third party, recipient checks; certain articles of the law take effect |
The calendar is based on the GARANT.RU analysis and Bank of Russia materials. The limit parameters for non-qualified investors come from the draft Bank of Russia ordinance; the final version had not been approved as of 14 September 2026.
FAQ
Has it become illegal to use Bybit or OKX? No. The law does not prohibit owning cryptocurrency and does not criminalize the use of foreign platforms: it builds a regulated infrastructure inside the country, and the requirement for residents to work only through licensed intermediaries takes effect on 1 July 2027.
Do I need to withdraw assets urgently? There is no urgency, but it is useful to tidy up: check address histories, split funds between platforms and a non-custodial wallet, and keep documents on your transactions.
Can I pay with cryptocurrency in a store? No, payments for goods and services within Russia remain banned.
Where can I check whether an exchanger is legal? In the public Bank of Russia registers, once they are populated. Until then, exchangers have no Russian status.
Sources
- Bank of Russia: on the adoption of the digital currency law and the investor admission model (21 July 2026)
- GARANT.RU: cryptocurrency — new rules for investors and businesses from 1 September 2026
- GARANT.RU: draft Bank of Russia ordinance on the limit and list of assets (11 August 2026)
- Kommersant: crypto market regulation law may take effect on 1 September 2026
- Vyberu.ru: draft Bank of Russia rules for cryptocurrency trading
- Bits.media: Russians will be barred from opening a crypto account without an INN
- Investing.com / Frankmedia: what changes for investors, miners and businesses
- RB.RU: new cryptocurrency rules in Russia
