Russia's central vows measures to curtail major risk crypto usage

The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has listed cryptocurrencies among the main threats for the future of the country’s financial market.

In an overview of its expected development, the regulator indicated it intends to boost crypto oversight and combat anonymous trading.

Russia’s central bank sees crypto as a threat

Cryptocurrencies and stablecoins will be a major risk for the Russian financial sector in the next few years, according to the monetary authority in Moscow.

The conclusion comes from a report titled “Key Directions for the Development of the Financial Market of the Russian Federation” which covers the 2026 – 2028 period.

The document, which has been prepared for the executive power and the Kremlin, highlights the rapid spread of “money surrogates” around the world.

Russia’s main financial regulator uses the term to describe digital currencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and foreign fiat-pegged coins like Tether (USDT). It elaborates:

“Given the payment function of some of these digital assets, there are risks of using these instruments, including by Russian citizens, as an alternative means of payment (money surrogate) to national currencies.”

The CBR further points to the potential loss of entire investments in crypto, stemming from the absence of an obligated party or collateral.

It also notes the increased risk of using coins in illegal activities, due to the anonymous and decentralized nature of some of them.

Monetary authority to double down on crypto monitoring

What’s new in the draft strategy, quoted by the news outlets Bits.media and RBC Crypto, is the particular emphasis on improving the monitoring of crypto-related activities.

From 2026, the regulator plans to obtain detailed information on the operations of entities involved in cryptocurrency mining, which Russia legalized in 2024.

The central bank also intends to carefully examine risks that accompany investments in financial instruments based on the value of cryptocurrencies.

These include crypto derivatives, which it permitted in May, other digital financial assets (DFAs), and some securities. All of them can be acquired only by “highly qualified” investors at this point.

Bank of Russia also reminded that only licensed market participants are allowed to offer such products and stressed that it will continue to expose financial pyramids and fraud.

According to its own data, over 80% of pyramid schemes identified in the first half of 2025 accepted cryptocurrency payments from their victims.

CBR to go after anonymous crypto exchange

The Russian central bank has listed what it calls “anonymous online crypto exchanges” among “shadow businesses,” alongside illegal online casinos and drug dealers.

It announced it’s preparing to launch a new system to identify individuals involved in such undertakings, which will provide commercial banks with quick access to their personal details.

The new platform called “Antidrop,” is expected to flag money mules, commonly called “drops” or “droppers” in Russian, and their money flows.

The latter are often exploited by fraudsters and criminals who use bank accounts and cards registered under their names to process illicit transactions and launder dirty money.

However, a package of legislative changes and other measures, introduced to deal with the phenomenon, have been criticized as affecting crypto trading as well, particularly peer-to-peer exchange.

Some suspicious transactions, such as multiple transfers between different accounts of the same holder and atypical ATM cash withdrawals exceeding a certain limit, can now result in the blocking of bank accounts.

Members of the Russian crypto space already raised the alarm that law enforcement agencies have started questioning traders that somehow got in contact with illicit money.

The Central Bank of Russia admitted in its report to an increase in complaints, not only about fraud cases, but also frozen bank accounts of people involved in what it views as illegal cryptocurrency exchange.

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