Russia has confirmed that direct peer-to-peer cryptocurrency transactions between individuals will be prohibited from July 1, 2027, requiring residents to conduct trades through authorized intermediaries.
Summary
- Russia will prohibit direct P2P cryptocurrency transactions between individuals starting July 1, 2027, requiring traders to use authorized intermediaries.
- The Bank of Russia has clarified that individuals cannot transfer cryptocurrency from regulated digital accounts to personal self custody wallets.
- Russian traders can continue buying and selling eligible cryptocurrencies through approved exchanges and brokers, subject to investor eligibility requirements and purchase limits.
- Sberbank has secured approval to provide cryptocurrency exchange services as Russia expands its regulated digital asset market.
- Industry executives have questioned how authorities will enforce restrictions on direct P2P transactions and independently controlled wallets.
According to updated guidance published by the Bank of Russia on Oct. 12, individuals can continue trading cryptocurrencies directly with one another until the deadline, after which such transactions will no longer be permitted under Federal Law No. 282-FZ.
The central bank clarified that individuals cannot transfer cryptocurrency from their digital accounts to their own noncustodial wallets. Transfers between individuals using addresses administered by regulated digital depositories are prohibited as well.
The restrictions affect how Russian traders buy, sell and transfer cryptocurrencies, although the country has opened a regulated market where approved banks, brokers and exchange operators can provide trading services.
Russian cryptocurrency traders who currently buy or sell digital assets directly with other individuals will have to use authorized intermediaries once the July 2027 deadline takes effect.
P2P transactions generally allow buyers and sellers to agree on a price and settle trades directly, sometimes using marketplaces that connect counterparties without acting as the principal buyer or seller.
The new framework does not permit individuals to continue conducting such trades simply by arranging transactions through a third-party marketplace. According to the central bank’s clarification, transactions between individuals themselves will no longer qualify as permitted cryptocurrency operations.
Instead, residents will have to trade with or through organizations recognized under Russian law, including registered cryptocurrency exchange operators and brokers.
The law creates separate responsibilities for these businesses. Exchange operators can buy and sell digital currencies using their own funds, while brokers facilitate transactions for their clients.
Russia had already established the framework for these services when its regulated cryptocurrency market opened on Sept. 1.
As crypto.news previously reported, nonqualified investors can purchase eligible cryptocurrencies worth up to 300,000 rubles annually through each authorized intermediary, provided they pass a required knowledge test.
Qualified investors must complete the test but are not subject to the same annual purchase limit.
The Bank of Russia has identified Bitcoin, Ether and USDT among the assets that could meet its eligibility requirements for ordinary investors, subject to the applicable trading rules.
Consequently, the restrictions do not prohibit cryptocurrency investing itself. They set conditions on who can facilitate transactions, which assets investors can purchase and how individuals can access the market.
Can Russian crypto holders still use self-custody wallets?
The central bank’s latest guidance addresses another part of cryptocurrency ownership by restricting transfers from regulated digital accounts to wallets controlled directly by individual users.
Under Article 31 of Federal Law No. 282-FZ, individuals are not permitted to transfer cryptocurrency from their digital accounts into their own noncustodial wallets.
Such wallets allow users to manage their private keys without relying on an exchange or another custodian to hold the assets.
The regulator’s clarification means that transferring cryptocurrency purchased through a regulated account to a personal self-custody wallet is not an authorized withdrawal route for individuals.
However, the guidance does not expressly state that simply possessing an existing hardware or software wallet is prohibited. It addresses specific transfers and transactions, leaving a distinction between holding cryptocurrency independently and moving assets out of regulated accounts.
Russia’s framework assigns digital depositories responsibility for recording cryptocurrency holdings and processing eligible transfers.
The central bank has developed rules for digital depositories, including capital requirements ranging from 50 million to 250 million rubles, depending on the services they provide.
These institutions maintain records of customer assets and the addresses associated with those holdings.
The central bank has further clarified that direct transfers between individuals using addresses administered by these depositories are not permitted, even when the transfers arise from transactions agreed between the individuals.
The restrictions therefore cover both withdrawals to personal noncustodial wallets from regulated accounts and transfers between individual customers within the regulated custody infrastructure.
How will traders access Russia’s regulated crypto exchanges?
Russia has begun authorizing financial institutions and cryptocurrency businesses to provide services under its new licensing framework.
On Oct. 6, the central bank registered its first crypto exchanges and digital depositories, including several established financial institutions.
The initial registrations covered four exchange operators and five digital depositories.
VTB Bank was included in both registers, while Sberbank, Russia’s largest lender, initially received authorization to operate as a digital depository.
On Oct. 12, Sberbank secured separate approval to provide cryptocurrency exchange services, according to a report by Interfax.
The lender plans to introduce its first cryptocurrency products on Dec. 1, with Bitcoin, Ether and USDT among the assets expected to be supported.
Sberbank has said it intends to provide these services through existing platforms, including SberBank Online, SberInvestments and SberBusiness.
VTB has outlined plans to provide investors with access to digital currency trading through its investment platform as early as November, followed by its own cryptocurrency exchange in December.
The institutions will operate under rules governing cryptocurrency trading, asset records and customer transactions.
Under the crypto market law approved in July, the Bank of Russia supervises participating intermediaries and maintains registers of authorized businesses.
The regulator’s Oct. 6 announcement stated that registered firms must comply with transaction and accounting requirements from the date of their admission, with remaining compliance obligations to be completed by Sept. 1, 2027.
What happens to crypto transfers outside Russia?
Russian residents will retain a regulated route for cryptocurrency transactions involving foreign markets, although the law imposes separate conditions on individuals and businesses.
According to the Bank of Russia’s July 21 explanation of the framework, residents can conduct cryptocurrency transactions abroad using foreign bank accounts.
Cryptocurrency purchased domestically may be transferred overseas through regulated intermediaries, while holdings recorded abroad must be reported to Russian tax authorities.
The law treats commercial cross-border transactions differently.
Russian exporters and importers are permitted to use cryptocurrencies for foreign trade settlements without the same restrictions imposed on ordinary retail investors.
The central bank has stated that eligible foreign trade transactions may be carried out through intermediaries or directly using different cryptocurrency wallets and digital currencies.
Domestic payments remain subject to a separate prohibition, meaning residents cannot use cryptocurrency to purchase goods or services inside Russia.
Questions remain over how effectively authorities can enforce restrictions on direct trading and self-custody.
Industry executives previously interviewed by Cointelegraph questioned the practical difficulties of preventing people from exchanging cryptocurrency outside centralized platforms.
Jan3 CEO Samson Mow argued that P2P cryptocurrency trading is more resistant to regulatory restrictions than activity conducted through centralized exchanges.
Stepan Uherik, an executive at hardware wallet company SatoshiLabs, separately pointed out that restrictions on mobile wallet applications would not necessarily prevent access through desktop software and hardware wallets.
Neither observation establishes an exemption under Russia’s new law.
The Bank of Russia’s October guidance cites Article 30 of Federal Law No. 282-FZ as the legal basis for ending direct cryptocurrency transactions between individuals on July 1, 2027.