#russiadumacryptomonitoringbill Russia’s State Duma is advancing a broad crypto regulation and monitoring framework that would place the country’s digital asset market under heavy Central Bank oversight. (Talk Business)
Key elements of the proposed legislation include:
mandatory licensing for crypto exchanges, brokers, custodians, and other intermediaries,
transaction monitoring and approval powers for the Bank of Russia,
restrictions on peer-to-peer and unlicensed crypto activity,
and tighter surveillance mechanisms for cross-border settlements. (Cryptopolitan)
The bill, titled “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights,” passed its first reading in the State Duma with 327 votes in favor. (Cryptopolitan)
Main monitoring provisions
The framework would reportedly:
require all legal crypto operations to flow through licensed entities,
allow the Central Bank to whitelist or ban specific cryptocurrencies,
introduce transaction tracing and compliance controls,
and create blacklisting systems for unauthorized activity. (Crypto Briefing)
Russian authorities are also considering criminal penalties for operating unlicensed crypto infrastructure. A separate proposal includes:
fines,
asset freezes,
and prison terms of up to seven years for large-scale illegal crypto operations. (Binance)
What Russia is allowing
Despite the strict controls, the bill officially recognizes crypto as property and legalizes regulated ownership and trading. (MEXC)
Russia would also allow cryptocurrency use for:
foreign trade settlements,
sanctions-related international payments,
and cross-border commercial transactions. (Yahoo Finance)
However:
domestic crypto payments remain banned,
the ruble stays the only legal tender,
and retail investors may face purchase limits and testing requirements. (Binance)
Why this matters
The proposed system resembles a heavily supervised “permissioned crypto market” rather than an open decentralized ecosystem.
Analysts believe Russia is trying to:
reduce sanctions pressure using crypto for international trade,
prevent capital flight and uncontrolled P2P