Shadow play: new regulation of the crypto market may be introduced as early as 2026.

Russia is capable of becoming one of the leaders of the global crypto market with a competent and operational government policy, the participants of the LDPR crypto forum said. A bill on the regulation of digital currencies may be submitted to the State Duma and considered in the spring session, said Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov. At the same time, government officials stressed that delaying these innovations increases the risks to the economy, creating a favorable environment for fraudsters, and at the same time deprives the country of the opportunity to occupy a significant niche in the new global industry. How the Russian crypto market will develop is in the Izvestia article.

When will the regulation of the crypt be improved in the Russian Federation

In the LDPR forum. Legislative regulation of cryptocurrencies and mining" was attended by representatives of the State Duma, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance — they focused on the pace and logic of the formation of the legal foundations of the industry.

Ivan Chebeskov, Deputy Finance Minister of the Russian Federation, announced his readiness to move from discussions to practical steps. According to him, the agency expects that changes regarding the legalization of cryptocurrencies will be introduced to the State Duma as early as the spring session. He stressed that the industry can and should be regulated at an accelerated pace, forming its own Russian crypto industry and, if necessary, supplementing it with government incentives.

The crypto industry is one of the few segments where Russia can not catch up, but lead on a global scale, said Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party.

"We call on the government, the Bank of Russia and the Ministry of Finance to work closely together to make rapid progress in legislative regulation of the cryptocurrency market as early as this session of the State Duma," he added in a conversation with Izvestia.

The Ministry of Finance supports the Central Bank's concept of legalizing cryptocurrencies, Ivan Chebeskov said on the sidelines of the forum. According to him, the market and regulators have now reached the stage where comprehensive regulation is possible.

The Central Bank's concept of the end of 2025 recognizes digital currencies and stablecoins as currency values: they can be bought and sold, but not paid with them within the country. Unqualified investors will be able to purchase the most liquid cryptocurrencies in the amount of up to 300 thousand rubles per year through one intermediary after a risk understanding test. Qualified investors will be able to buy any cryptocurrencies, except anonymous ones, without volume restrictions — but also after testing.

The implementation of these plans by mid-2026 will create a transparent market and fundamentally change the status of crypto assets, said Dmitry Vishnevsky, an analyst at Digital Broker. The very fact of the emergence of the regulatory concept can be considered a positive signal, since previously the Central Bank consistently opposed the legalization of cryptocurrencies, said Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global.

At the same time, Ivan Chebeskov stressed that the limit on the purchase of cryptocurrencies of 300 thousand rubles per year should not be perceived as final. The Ministry of Finance considers it justified and is ready to discuss specific values. However, the idea of limited access is a key compromise with the Central Bank: instead of the previous idea of allowing trading only to super—qualified investors, most Russians will eventually be able to buy cryptocurrency, but with limits, which makes the market more accessible.

How much of the crypto market is in the Shadows

Digital assets today can be used in fraudulent schemes and shadow turnover, but the root cause of this remains a legal vacuum, said Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party. As long as the market is squeezed out of the law and has no legal infrastructure, the situation will only worsen.

Russia is already one of the three largest markets in terms of cryptocurrency turnover, and the number of crypto wallets among Russians in 2025 reached about 8 million, Natalia Milchakova noted. At the same time, the lack of regulation means that the market actually lives in the shadows, and the state does not receive taxes on individual transactions and company profits.

The absence of rules creates conditions for conducting shady operations, from buying drugs and transferring money to online casinos to financing the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said Evgeny Masharov, a member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation. According to him, the damage from this to the economy and security of the country is obvious — it is important to solve this problem promptly.

In addition, illegal mining has become a serious challenge for the energy sector, said Alexey Karpunin, a partner at 5d Consulting. According to him, although the industry is legalized, market players from the gray zone consume electricity outside the rules. Illegal farms overload the grid, increase the risks of accidents and fires, and worsen the quality of electricity supply for everyone.

At the same time, the industrial mining market is actively changing, with large groups entering it, said Andrey Loboda, a top communications manager in the field of digital currencies. However, about 50% of companies in this field still remain in the gray area. According to the estimates of GBIG Holdings Group, this share is even higher and reaches 70%, said Rufat Abyasov, the founder of the company.

In order to bring miners out of the shadows, it is important to hold an amnesty for those who imported equipment with violations, Leonid Slutsky emphasized. According to him, the fear of punishment prevents them from registering in registries and working legally.

"If we announce an amnesty, we will achieve a large—scale whitewashing of the cryptocurrency market in the country," stressed the head of the Liberal Democratic Party.

It is pointless to fight illegal mining raids, Alexey Karpunin believes. In his opinion, we need a systematic model with consumption control and clear responsibility, as well as clear rules for those who are willing to work legally and pay taxes.

Prospects of using cryptocurrencies in the Russian Federation

The forum paid special attention to the role of cryptocurrencies in the context of sanctions. Digital assets have become one of the cross-border settlement tools for exporters and importers amid attempts to build a financial "iron curtain" against Russia, said Moscow City Duma deputy Maria Voropayeva.

At the same time, the lack of ruble-denominated stablecoins forces the country to depend on foreign infrastructure and reduces the potential for using the ruble in international settlements.
Almost 99% of the capitalization of stablecoins today is denominated in dollars, she recalled, and issuing its own instruments could reduce this dependence and support settlements in national currencies.

"The launch of ruble—denominated stablecoins is critically important for the independence of the financial system, as they provide cross—border settlements outside the SWIFT infrastructure," said Dmitry Vishnevsky from Digital Broker.

In fact, there is already a ruble—denominated stablecoin, A7A5, but in the jurisdiction of Kyrgyzstan. And it is used mainly for foreign economic activity and foreign payments, said Oleg Ogienko, Director of Interaction with government Agencies and International Relations at A7A5. However, it is difficult to rely on this instrument in export-import operations due to the sanctions risks, Natalia Milchakova pointed out, recalling that since November 2025 this coin has been under EU sanctions.

Russian companies are already using digital currencies in cross-border settlements, Dmitry Vishnevsky added. In the future, the payment infrastructure may be complemented by BRICS Pay (the international system of the countries of the association) and the digital ruble, with pilot international payments scheduled for 2026.

In the process of legalizing such currencies, experts do not rule out the creation of a national crypto exchange, said Alexander Potavin, an analyst at Finam Financial Group. In his opinion, such a platform could appear on the basis of a large state-owned bank with a well-developed IT infrastructure and a wide customer base. Digit Broker considers the integration of crypto trading into the infrastructure of the Moscow Stock Exchange or St. Petersburg Stock Exchange to be a more likely scenario.

At the same time, the State Duma opposes the monopoly model, Andrei Lugovoy, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption, stressed in a conversation with Izvestia. According to him, there is already a working crypto infrastructure in the country with accumulated technologies and competencies, and the new system should take into account the interests of banks and existing market players, without displacing them from the future regulatory model.