According to the Russian Ministry of Finance, the daily trading volume of the Russian cryptocurrency market is approximately 50 billion rubles (about $648 million).
Deputy Finance Minister **Ivan Chebeskov** announced at an Alfa-Bank meeting that Russia's annual cryptocurrency trading volume exceeds $130 billion.
Almost all transactions are taking place outside the regulatory framework.
According to the state news agency TASS, Chebeskov stated, 'We have always said that millions of citizens are involved in this activity, and its scale reaches trillions of rubles. All of this is currently taking place in the unregulated area.'
Chebeskov previously mentioned that the number of Russians using cryptocurrency in any form amounts to about 20 million.
What happened?
Chebeskov said that a draft bill to regulate cryptocurrency trading could be submitted as early as March to the federal law (State Duma).
Both the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Russia want this bill to pass during the Duma's spring session, with a deadline set for July 1.
Vladimir Chistyukhin, the first deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia, stated at the same meeting that regulators would provide a transition period for market participants to obtain licenses and prepare internal compliance documents.
The law primarily regulates exchanges and focuses on imposing penalties on trading platforms that do not secure operating licenses.
Under the proposed framework, banks and brokers can provide cryptocurrency services within the scope of existing licenses, while independent cryptocurrency platforms must obtain separate authorization.
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Why is this important?
Cryptocurrency activities in Russia have been growing rapidly, partly fueled by Western sanctions that restricted access to traditional financial channels.
According to Chainalysis's 2025 report, Russia is the largest cryptocurrency market in Europe by transaction volume, surpassing the UK. The largest Russian stock exchange, **Moscow Exchange (MOEX)**, has expressed its intention to enter this field.
The head of the supervisory board, **Sergey Shvetsov**, told the daily Vedomosti that Russians are currently paying approximately $15 billion in fees to overseas cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the gray zone each year.
"Comparing our annual profit of about $1 billion to this $15 billion, the opportunity to bring some of it back into the legal realm could mean a significant increase," Shvetsov said.
Several major Russian banks have also stated that they are ready to launch cryptocurrency-related products as soon as the bill is enacted.
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