Russia’s Duma Approves Crypto Framework, Keeps Domestic Payment Ban

Russia’s State Duma, the lower house of parliament, approved a bill on 21 July in its second and third readings, according to a report by the state news agency. The vote cleared the final lower-house stage for a legal framework covering digital currencies. The bill keeps the existing ban on using cryptocurrencies to pay for goods and services inside Russia. The bill regulates the asset class without opening it to domestic commerce.

Pilot Program Becomes Permanent Framework

The bill, No. 1194918-8, titled “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights,” passed alongside a companion bill aligning roughly two dozen existing laws with the new framework. Most provisions take effect on 1 September, with a transition period running until 1 July 2027 for firms to come into compliance. The legislation has not yet become law. It must still clear the Federation Council, the upper house, before going to President Vladimir Putin for signature.

The bill converts an experimental cross-border settlement regime into a permanent legal structure. That pilot, created by a 2024 law and running since September 2024, allows the Bank of Russia to authorize digital currency payments under foreign trade contracts between Russian residents and non-residents.

Russia’s banks have faced restricted access to Swift, the Belgium-based network used for cross-border payment instructions, since Western sanctions followed the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The cross-border pilot gave Russian firms a narrow channel to settle international trade despite that restriction, and the new bill extends that channel into permanent law rather than leaving it as a temporary experiment subject to renewal.

The domestic payment ban remains untouched by this shift. Businesses inside Russia still cannot accept cryptocurrency as payment for goods or services under the new framework, keeping the core restriction from the 2024 pilot in place even as the cross-border mechanism becomes permanent.

Limited Exception For Licensed Dealers

Licensed over-the-counter dealers may use digital currency in transactions involving securities, other digital currencies, and digital rights, an exception that covers dealing activity rather than consumer payments. Digital rights are a civil code category that has been in force since 2019, covering digital financial assets and utilitarian digital rights as defined under Russian law.

This dealing exception is distinct from the domestic payment ban. The bill does not open cryptocurrency to general commercial use inside Russia; it instead carves out a regulated channel for licensed intermediaries handling specific financial instruments.

Registration Required for Exchange Activity

Only entities entered in a Bank of Russia register will be permitted to conduct digital currency exchange activity once the framework takes full effect. Firms may continue operating without registration until 1 July 2027.

Access rules under the bill differ for qualified and nonqualified investors, though the legislation reviewed does not specify the exact thresholds separating the two categories.

What Comes Next in the Legislative Process

The bill’s passage through the Duma marks the final lower-house step in Russia’s process for enacting federal legislation. It now moves to the Federation Council for a vote, and if approved there, proceeds to President Putin for signature before becoming law.

Until signed, the bill remains proposed legislation rather than enacted law, and its September implementation timeline depends on completing both remaining steps without delay.