The Bank of Russia says direct crypto transactions between residents will be banned from July 1, 2027. Transfers will have to run through licensed brokers or exchanges, and withdrawals to self-custody wallets will not be permitted. Sberbank's Anatoly Popov expects only a fraction of trading volume to move at first.
Russia will ban peer-to-peer crypto transactions between residents starting July 1, 2027, according to the Bank of Russia. The rule also closes the route to self-custody wallets, so residents who want to move crypto must use regulated intermediaries.
What the central bank's rules allow
In a series of explanations on crypto regulation, the Bank of Russia stressed that residents can transfer crypto assets only through brokers or exchanges it has licensed, citing Part 1 of Article 30 of Federal Law № 282-FZ. Today, 13 organizations are licensed as digital currency exchanges, including VTB Bank and Sberbank.
Direct P2P deals between residents remain allowed until July 1, 2027, because the list of approved transactions in that article does not contemplate direct transactions between individuals.
The bank also draws two further lines. Withdrawals from accounts at licensed exchanges to self-custody wallets are not permitted, even when the same person controls both. Transfers between two exchange accounts owned by different people are also prohibited under Part 5 of Article 31 of the same law.
Analysts see oversight as the goal
According to analysts, the goal is full visibility of the crypto market once Russians move funds to local exchanges. That would allow tighter monitoring of fund flows and tax evasion, since digital assets are often used to make payments and hide money flows from authorities.
Yet the framework still lets importers and exporters settle transactions with approved digital assets to bypass international sanctions. Domestic payments are different: the bank has banned crypto for internal payments. It backs its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital ruble, instead. The digital ruble launched nationwide in September, after leaving pilot mode.
The shift to licensed accounts is expected to be slow. Sberbank Deputy Chairman Anatoly Popov estimates that only 20% of Russian traded volumes will move to licensed exchanges, with further progress in subsequent years.
Source: Bitcoin News
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