Russian companies are preparing to offer crypto services under new rules

Financial firms in Russia are gearing up to offer clients access to cryptocurrencies, as soon as this is legally possible, but indications are mounting that such services will be subject to considerable restrictions.

The long-awaited regulation of the country’s market for digital assets is unlikely to go without the caveats, caps, bans, and blacklists its citizens are used to seeing every time they hear the word “legalization.”

MOEX prepares to launch Bitcoin and Ethereum trading

Moscow Exchange (MOEX) intends to start trading cryptocurrencies right after the rules for this activity are put in place this summer.

Russian authorities are working on a comprehensive framework recognizing the digital coins as monetary assets, which should be adopted by July 1.

The Russian edition of Forbes revealed the platform’s plans on Friday, quoting sources from the brokerage sector. MOEX confirmed, without providing more details on the timeframe.

The exchange is likely to implement a centralized model and act as an intermediary providing services to registered users, including storage.

Cryptocurrencies approved by Russian regulators will be traded, initially Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). These will be available to non-professional investors, too.

A broader range of assets and instruments will be offered to qualified investors, including Solana and some stablecoins, as well as derivatives based on foreign exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

After the Bank of Russia authorized the offering of such products in May 2025, MOEX launched four futures contracts for the shares of ETFs tracking BTC and ETH and its own Bitcoin and Ethereum indices.

Earlier in February, its operator announced it would launch three more crypto indices this year, which would track the performance of Solana (SOL), Ripple’s XRP, and Tron (TRX).

Crypto transactions to be processed through a ‘banking filter’

Upcoming regulations are based on a new regulatory concept unveiled by the Central Bank of Russia in late December, which envisages widening investor access to decentralized digital assets, currently available only to “highly qualified” investors.

However, Russian media, quoting the draft legislation released this week, revealed that the authorities are preparing to introduce a number of restrictions. For example, coin purchases for ordinary Russians will be capped at less than $4,000 a year, and all investors are expected to pass tests before buying.

The texts indicate regulators want to track every crypto-related movement of funds. And on Friday, the business news portal RBC reported that the monetary authority and finance ministry are suggesting a “banking filter” for cryptocurrency transactions of citizens.

While they are yet to elaborate more on the proposal, it’s already clear that Russian residents will be very limited in their options to use cryptocurrencies, including for domestic and international transfers, and especially payments inside Russia, which will remain prohibited.

The regime will be more relaxed for non-residents and qualified investors, as well as entities involved in foreign trade. This will facilitate cross-border settlements with crypto, allowing Russian firms to bypass financial restrictions imposed over the war in Ukraine.

Non-qualified investors will have to transfer their funds to domestic platforms and conduct most of their cryptocurrency operations through authorized intermediaries.

While established participants in the traditional financial market, including exchanges like MOEX, brokers, and management firms, will be able to process coin transactions under their existing licenses, dedicated crypto platforms will face a separate set of strict requirements.

Their operators will be prohibited from providing services that allow residents to circumvent any of the applicable restrictions, the business daily Kommersant noted in an article. They will also be banned from facilitating the purchase of “anonymous” coins by citizens.

The Bank of Russia will publish a list of “prohibited” cryptocurrencies and blacklist crypto businesses breaking the law, blocking any client transactions to their platforms in the future.

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