Rosfinmonitoring is preparing a total cleanup of the crypto market: new identification and control rules
The Russian digital currency market is on the brink of radical changes. Rosfinmonitoring has announced a series of stringent measures aimed at tightening control over crypto operations. This involves a full-scale transformation of the rules of the game for all industry participants—from exchanges to trust managers.
Identification Without Exceptions
The key innovation is mandatory full client identification for new players in the crypto market. Brokers and managers planning to work with cryptocurrencies and digital rights will be required to disclose not only their clients' data but also the ultimate beneficiaries and beneficial owners. This is a significant step toward transparency that will hit anonymous schemes.
To reduce administrative burden, an outsourcing mechanism is provided: crypto exchanges and depositories will be able to delegate identification functions to commercial banks and professional securities market participants. However, this does not relieve them of responsibility for the integrity of operations.
Travel Rule and Expanded Mandatory Control
Another significant change is the full implementation of the Travel Rule standard. Each crypto transaction will now be accompanied by end-to-end information about the sender and recipient. This is not a Russian innovation: similar requirements are already in place in the European Union and most FATF jurisdictions. Russia is simply catching up with global practice.
At the same time, the list of operations subject to mandatory control will be expanded by five new types related to cryptocurrency. The digital depository is planned to be integrated into the transfer information support system, making the entire chain of fund movement fully traceable.
New Powers and Timelines
Banks, brokers, and digital depositories will gain the right to block suspicious cryptocurrency transfers. The current version of Federal Law No. 115 already classifies transactions with digital financial assets worth over 1 million rubles as subject to mandatory control. Now control will be even stricter, including foreign trade operations where digital rights are used as counter-performance.
The necessity of these measures is dictated not by internal considerations but by external pressure. Russia aims to bring its AML system in line with FATF recommendations ahead of the upcoming assessment. The stakes are high: being placed on the FATF "gray list" entails reputational and economic risks. As the agency stated, the goal is to "decriminalize" the cryptocurrency and digital asset market.
When to Expect?
The innovations will take effect only after the adoption of the bill "On Digital Currency and Digital Rights." Currently, it has only passed its first reading, so there is still time before the final changes. But the direction is clear: anonymity in the Russian crypto space is becoming a thing of the past.
My expert commentary: These measures are the inevitable price for the industry's legalization. On one hand, they will cut off the shadow sector and increase institutional investors' trust. On the other, they will create significant barriers to entry for small players and may provoke an outflow of some audience to unregulated jurisdictions. The key question is how effectively the identification outsourcing mechanism will work and whether it will turn into an additional bureaucratic trap.