<p>The cryptocurrency bill in the Russian Federation: heading to the second reading with new rules</p>

A controversial bill aimed at legalizing the cryptocurrency market in Russia has passed a key stage — preparation for the second reading. The relevant State Duma Committee on the Financial Market has already recommended adopting the document. This is a serious step, but the final version of the text has undergone drastic changes since its initial approval in April.

Let me remind you that bill No. 1194918-8 was adopted in the first reading back on April 21. However, ahead of the second reading, lawmakers conducted a thorough revision, adding a number of fundamental novelties that radically change the landscape for market participants.

What is changing: rights protection and new restrictions

The main innovation is that citizens are guaranteed full judicial protection of rights to digital assets. Moreover, this protection is provided regardless of whether the owner has declared their assets. This fully aligns with the position of the Constitutional Court and removes many legal risks for bona fide participants.

To protect foreign economic transactions, 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 is a reasonable measure that prevents the leakage of confidential information about foreign counterparties.

The law strictly regulates the activities of intermediaries. Crypto exchangers will be able to send acquired assets exclusively to the buyer's own wallet. Digital depositories will have the right to freeze transfers of large sums abroad or to third parties for 48 hours. If an intermediary ignores this requirement, they are obliged to fully compensate the client for money stolen by fraudsters.

Professional brokers and managers will be able to legally trade on foreign crypto exchanges, provided the host jurisdiction is friendly. The law also allows settlements in cryptocurrency for the purchase and sale of securities and Russian digital rights. Maximum freedom is provided for companies engaged in foreign economic activity — they can use any infrastructure, wallets, cryptocurrencies, and stablecoins.

Timeline: when to expect launch

Due to the huge number of amendments and prolonged approvals, the adoption of the initiative is being postponed to autumn. The Ministry of Finance has already officially confirmed that they will physically not have time to approve the document before the deadline. According to statements from the Central Bank and Anatoly Aksakov, the final version should be adopted by July 27 — likely referring to the second reading, not the final approval.

The accompanying package of laws on liability for violations will not appear before the autumn session. Accordingly, the legal norms will come into force closer to September 1. However, experts assess the chances of a launch in early autumn 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 such a scenario, postponing most key provisions to later in the autumn will become inevitable.

Analyst's opinion: This bill is an attempt to find a balance between strict control and the need to integrate cryptocurrencies into the economy. The relaxation of requirements for foreign economic activity and judicial protection of rights are positive signals. However, the limit of 300 thousand rubles for non-qualified investors and mandatory testing will create serious barriers to mass adoption. The market is frozen in anticipation: will the State Duma be able to complete the process before autumn, or are we facing another delay.