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Russia’s crypto bill advances with final Duma votes on July 21
If approved, the law would take effect September 1 and create a licensing regime for exchanges, brokers, and custodians while allowing crypto only for international trade.
Russia’s State Duma is set to hold its second and third readings of the first comprehensive cryptocurrency bill on July 21, with passage contingent on subsequent Senate approval and a signature by President Vladimir Putin. The Duma committee chairman Anatoly Aksakov expects the post-Duma process to take about two weeks, moving the law’s start date to September 1, according to Decrypt.
The bill would allow cryptocurrency use explicitly for international trade, giving Russian companies a legal pathway to route payments outside Western banking channels. Domestic crypto payments would remain banned.
The legislation also sets up a licensing regime for crypto exchanges, brokers, and custodians, with the Bank of Russia serving as the permit issuer and authority to block any cryptocurrency it deems a threat to financial stability. Decrypt reports that VTB and T-Bank have already announced plans to build crypto depositories.
To trade legally, a cryptocurrency must meet criteria including market capitalization above 5 trillion rubles, about $65 billion, and at least five years of verified trading history on a licensed foreign exchange, which currently limits eligible assets to Bitcoin and Ethereum. Decrypt also notes an annual purchase cap of 300,000 rubles, about $3,800, for regular investors through a licensed intermediary, and that privacy coins cannot be bought even by professional investors.
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