Crypto news

The State Duma Committee on the Financial Market has presented an updated version of the bill "On Digital Currency and Digital Rights" for the second reading. The key innovation is granting banks the right to independently block transfers if they suspect the recipient of illegal cryptocurrency turnover. This radically changes the approach to regulation: from rigid state registries to decentralized control at the level of financial institutions.

Initially, two registries were proposed: one for legal entities, individual entrepreneurs, and foreigners organizing cryptocurrency turnover outside the legal framework, and another for foreign payment providers servicing such violators. However, both lists were removed for the second reading. Instead, the concept of an "unauthorized recipient" is introduced — an addressee against whom the bank has reasonable suspicions of organizing the circulation of digital currencies without the appropriate status.

Notably, the bill does not establish clear criteria for such suspicions and does not assign their development to the Bank of Russia. Each bank will set them independently in internal documents. This creates a risk of subjective and opaque application of the rules, which is especially critical for bona fide market participants.

Blocking and Exclusion Mechanism

Banks are required to immediately notify the client of the refusal to transfer in the manner established by the contract. However, the procedure for notifying the "unauthorized recipient" themselves and the mechanism for challenging the blocking are absent from the document. This effectively deprives the addressee of the right to protection and may lead to abuses.

At the same time, the bill provides for three exceptions where a refusal to transfer is not required:

• the transaction is related to a foreign trade contract;
• the transfer is made on behalf of an organization exchanging digital currency;
• the transaction is carried out on behalf of a broker or trustee, if permitted by the Bank of Russia.

The obligation to refuse transfers is imposed on credit institutions, branches of foreign banks, and payment card issuers. Payment agents, telecom and postal operators, as well as participants in the digital ruble platform, are excluded from the mechanism.

The State Duma plans to consider the bill in the second reading on July 21. Recall that earlier, First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Vladimir Chistyukhin stated that the law on regulating the crypto market will come into force on September 1.

Expert opinion: The new mechanism is a step toward total control, but with the risk of legal uncertainty. The absence of uniform suspicion criteria and a blocking challenge procedure creates grounds for arbitrariness. The market will need time to adapt, and bona fide participants will require legal protection against unjustified refusals. Tightening of rules is inevitable, but its effectiveness will depend on the transparency and predictability of application.