A landmark bill aimed at legalizing the cryptocurrency market in Russia has successfully completed the preparation stage for its second reading. The relevant committee on the financial market has already recommended that the State Duma support the document. This was announced by the committee's chairman, Anatoly Aksakov, on his official Telegram channel.
Let me remind you that bill No. 1194918-8, regulating digital currencies and digital rights, was approved in the first reading as early as April 21, 2026. However, by now, its text has undergone substantial and deep revision, reflecting the complexity and ambiguity of the regulated sphere.
What changes in the second reading
As part of the preparation for the second reading, lawmakers have formulated several fundamentally important innovations. First and foremost, the document guarantees citizens full judicial protection of rights to digital assets. Notably, this protection is provided regardless of prior declaration, which fully aligns with the legal position of the Constitutional Court.
To protect Russians' foreign transactions from potential blockages, reporting rules have been relaxed. Instead of disclosing addresses of foreign crypto wallets, residents will be required to declare only the balances of funds and financial turnovers on them. This measure will effectively prevent risks of confidential information leakage.
Additionally, the new rules strictly regulate the activities of intermediaries. Crypto exchanges will be able to send purchased virtual assets exclusively to the buyer's own wallet. In turn, digital depositories will have the right to freeze transfers of large sums abroad or to third parties for 48 hours. If an intermediary ignores these requirements, they will have to fully compensate the client for money stolen by fraudsters.
In the foreseeable future, professional brokers and managers will be able to legally conduct trading operations on foreign crypto exchanges. However, to do so, they will have to meet additional conditions, including requirements for the friendliness of the host jurisdiction. Furthermore, the law allows settlements in cryptocurrency for the purchase and sale of securities and Russian digital rights.
For companies engaged in foreign economic activity, maximum freedom is provided. They will be able to use any infrastructure, wallets, cryptocurrencies, and stablecoins. This is a logical step, given the need to circumvent sanctions restrictions.
Interestingly, some controversial points, such as the 300,000 ruble limit for unqualified investors, are not planned to be removed. This indicates that the regulator is betting on a gradual and controlled involvement of retail investors in the market.
What they say about the timeline
Due to the huge number of amendments and protracted approvals between various departments, the adoption of the initiative is being postponed to the fall. The Ministry of Finance has already officially confirmed that they will physically not have time to approve the document before the deadline.
The accompanying package of laws, establishing liability for violating the created rules, will appear no earlier than the fall session. Accordingly, the legal norms will come into force closer to September 1. However, experts assess the chances of a launch in early fall quite cautiously. If deputies do not approve the text in the second reading by the end of July, the system will definitely not be operational by September. In this scenario, postponing most key provisions to later in the fall will become inevitable.
My expert assessment: although the bill is moving forward, its current version is a compromise between strict control and the need to stimulate the market. We will see the actual launch of legal cryptocurrency circulation in Russia no earlier than the end of 2026, and even then, provided that the fall session does not bring new surprises.