Bitcoin Magazine

Bank of Russia Creates New Rules For Crypto Trading

Russia’s central bank on Monday published draft regulations for the trading of digital currencies. 

The Bank of Russia released the changes to its “organized trading” rules, including the term “digital currency” throughout. “Organized trading” is the regulator’s term for supervised marketplaces where assets change hands under formal oversight, transparent pricing and mandatory reporting — the same regime that already governs traditional currencies and securities. 

The new rules are for organizations like crypto exchanges, which now have to report digital assets into their existing systems for pricing, monitoring and reporting — using the same processes they already run for regular currencies and securities. In practice, this means trading venues would need to fold crypto quotes, order flow and settlement data into the reporting pipelines the central bank already watches, closing a gap that previously left digital assets outside routine supervision.

Russia’s central bank is implementing the new rules as the State Duma prepares comprehensive regulation of crypto. Aligning exchange-level reporting standards now could smooth the path for that broader legislation, giving regulators a clearer view of trading volumes, liquidity and counterparties before a full legal framework is finalized. 

Pro-Bitcoin Russia?

While the new rules don’t specifically mention Bitcoin, Russia has a complex relationship with the leading cryptocurrency. 

Using crypto has been illegal in Russia as a form of payment since 2022 but lawmakers in the country have been open about using them for international settlements. That distinction — barring domestic payments while exploring cross-border use — has shaped much of the country’s recent policy debate.

President Vladimir Putin has also spoken about how the country has “competitive advantages” when it comes to Bitcoin mining due to the abundance of cheap energy in Russia. 

And back in 2023, the Russian legislature passed a bill legalizing the use of digital currency as a way to make international payments. 

The bill likely has helped the country skirt international sanctions: The U.S. and European governments sanctioned Russia when it annexed Crimea in 2014, and Western nations have stepped up penalties since it invaded Ukraine in 2022. Crypto rails, which settle without passing through the correspondent banking network, offer one route around those restrictions.

President Putin even hinted that the country had been using Bitcoin specifically: While speaking at a forum in Moscow in December 2024, he said that new technologies were emerging that could help people move money. 

“For example, Bitcoin, who can ban it? Nobody,” he said at the time. 

Taken together, the draft rules fit a broader pattern: Moscow keeps tight limits on everyday crypto use at home while building the tools to bring digital-asset trading under formal supervision and to keep cross-border settlement channels open.

This post Bank of Russia Creates New Rules For Crypto Trading first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.

Source: BitcoinMagazine