Russia’s State Duma will consider its cryptocurrency regulation bill in second and third readings, the final parliamentary stage before the framework can become law, according to the chamber’s financial markets chief.
What Aksakov Announced
Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, disclosed the schedule at a press conference at the Rossiya Segodnya Center, state news agency TASS reported.
“Tomorrow we’ll be passing the law in its second and third readings,” Aksakov said, describing the legislation as “aimed at creating the legal conditions for cryptocurrencies to function in our country.”
Taking both readings in a single sitting is significant procedurally. Russian bills require three Duma readings — the first establishing the concept, the second handling amendments, and the third a final vote on the completed text. Combining the last two indicates the amendment stage is settled and the government expects no further substantive changes.
A Framework Built to Do Two Opposite Things
Aksakov’s own description of the bill’s purpose captured its dual structure. “On the one hand, we are creating a legal framework to combat the illegal use of cryptocurrency within our country, and on the other, we are providing those who use cryptocurrency for international relations with legal frameworks,” he said.
That split runs through the entire legislation. Domestically, the ruble remains Russia’s only legal means of settlement, and cryptocurrencies cannot be used for payments, salaries, or commercial transactions inside the country. Crypto is treated as an investment instrument and, under the bill, as property—giving holders standing to defend their holdings in court and to include them in bankruptcy, divorce, and inheritance proceedings.
Externally, the bill carves out an exception. Russian companies would be permitted to settle cross-border transactions in digital assets, a provision Russian lawmakers have described in unusually direct terms. At the bill’s first reading, Kaplan Panesh, Deputy Chairman of the Duma’s budget and taxes committee, said the measure “allows Russian companies to settle with foreign counterparties in cryptocurrency, bypassing sanctions restrictions.”
That framing matters for context: Russia was cut off from SWIFT and much of Western correspondent banking after 2022, and crypto rails require no access to dollar clearing.
What the Bill Establishes
The legislation, titled “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights,” passed its first reading on April 21 with 327 of 340 deputies voting in favor.
It designates the Bank of Russia as the licensing and supervisory authority for the crypto market, with power to authorize market participants and set operational standards. The bill establishes five categories of regulated entities—exchanges, brokers, management companies, depositories, and exchangers—and provides a simplified licensing path for banks, brokers, and firms already operating under the central bank’s experimental legal regime.
Only cryptocurrencies meeting thresholds for market capitalization, trading volume, and operational history would be eligible for organized exchange trading, with the criteria to be set in law.
Tight Limits for Retail Buyers
The Bank of Russia set out its regulatory framework in December, permitting both qualified and unqualified investors to acquire crypto assets while maintaining that it regards cryptocurrencies as a high-risk financial instrument.
Under that framework, unqualified investors will be able to buy only the most liquid cryptocurrencies, will be required to pass a special test before doing so, and will face an annual purchase cap of 300,000 rubles, roughly $3,900, through any single intermediary.
Qualified and professional participants face no such volume restrictions. Earlier TASS reporting indicated that privacy-focused tokens, including Monero and Zcash, would be excluded from the permitted list, with Russian authorities citing anonymity and anti-money-laundering concerns.
What Changed Before the Final Vote
The text reaching the floor is not the one that passed in April. On July 8, the Financial Markets Committee approved a revised version for second reading that dropped a contested requirement for users to disclose cryptocurrency wallet addresses, a change Aksakov presented as strengthening legal protections for holders while easing reporting burdens.
One question left open at that stage was the treatment of non-custodial wallets, where users retain sole control of their private keys. An earlier proposal would have restricted their use by Russians, and Aksakov did not address it when presenting the committee’s revisions.
What Happens After the Duma
Passage in the Duma does not complete the process. The bill must then be approved by the Federation Council, parliament’s upper chamber, before going to President Vladimir Putin for signature.
The vote also lands weeks before a separate milestone in Russia’s digital finance agenda. The Bank of Russia is scheduled to begin the commercial rollout of the digital ruble on September 1, requiring major banks to support central bank digital currency transactions — a state-issued instrument the legislation keeps deliberately distinct from privately issued cryptocurrencies.
A related measure has moved more slowly. Legislation establishing criminal liability for illegal cryptocurrency exchange will not be completed before parliamentary elections, with its remaining readings pushed to the new Duma’s autumn session, after concerns that the drafting could expose ordinary peer-to-peer traders to prosecution alongside organized operations.
For a market that has operated in a legal grey zone for years, the significance of tomorrow’s vote is that the ambiguity ends—in one direction domestically and in another for anyone trading across Russia’s borders.
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