Rosfinmonitoring tightens the screws: new law to hit anonymity of crypto operations in Russia
The Russian regulator is preparing fundamental changes to the rules of the game for the cryptocurrency market. This involves a significant tightening of control over all transactions with digital assets, which will directly affect both brokers and trustees. The key innovation is full client identification and disclosure of information about beneficiaries and ultimate beneficiaries. This effectively puts an end to the anonymity that has been one of the main features of the crypto industry.
New rules for identification and control
According to the initiative, all market participants wishing to work with cryptocurrency and digital rights will be required to conduct a Know Your Customer (KYC) procedure. To reduce operational burden, exchanges and depositories will be allowed to delegate these functions to commercial banks and professional securities market participants. This is a reasonable step that will allow legitimate players not to build complex compliance systems from scratch, but to rely on existing banking infrastructure.
At the same time, the list of transactions subject to mandatory control is expanding. Five new types of cryptocurrency transactions will be added to the existing transactions with digital financial assets worth over 1 million rubles. Banks, brokers, and digital depositories will gain the right to block suspicious transfers, giving them a powerful tool to combat illegal flows.
Travel Rule and FATF: why this is happening now
Special attention is being paid to implementing the Travel Rule standard. Now, every crypto transaction will be accompanied by end-to-end information about the sender and recipient. This is not a Russian invention—similar requirements are already in effect in the EU and most FATF jurisdictions. Russia is forced to adapt to international standards to avoid being placed on the FATF "grey list," which would have catastrophic consequences for the country's entire financial system.
As noted by the agency's director advisor, Vlada Korchagina, the goal of the initiative is to "decriminalize" the cryptocurrency and digital asset market. However, in practice, this means total state control. The innovations will only come into force after the adoption of the bill "On Digital Currency and Digital Rights," which has so far only passed its first reading.
My analysis: The market is moving toward full transparency, and this is inevitable. For honest participants, the new rules are a path to legal status and trust from banks. However, for those accustomed to anonymity and freedom, tough times are coming. We stand on the threshold of an era where every satoshi will have its owner, and this fundamentally changes the very essence of cryptocurrencies.