Russia's Duma Passes First Full Crypto Law, Sends to Putin

Russia’s State Duma passed a bill Tuesday that gives the country its first full legal framework for cryptocurrency, treating digital assets as property while keeping them out of everyday payments.

Lawmakers approved Bill No. 1194918-8, “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights,” in its second and third readings on July 21, according to Rossiyskaya Gazeta. The vote sends the measure to the Federation Council and then to President Vladimir Putin for signature. Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the Duma’s Financial Markets Committee, said the day before the vote that the goal was creating legal conditions for the functioning of cryptocurrencies in the country.

The bill classifies bitcoin and other digital assets as property under the Russian civil code, not as currency. The ruble remains the only legal tender for domestic transactions.

The Bank of Russia will license five categories of market participants: exchanges, brokers, custodians, management companies and exchangers. Banks will be barred from routing payments to unlicensed foreign platforms. Existing operators get a transition window, with full licensing enforcement due by July 1, 2027.

Non-qualified retail investors can buy up to 300,000 rubles, about $3,800, in crypto per year through a single licensed intermediary, and must pass a risk-awareness test first. Qualified investors get a higher ceiling, roughly 3 million rubles. Privacy-focused coins are excluded on anti-money-laundering grounds, narrowing eligible trading largely to assets like bitcoin and ethereum.