Double Standard: How the New Cryptocurrency Law Divides Russia into Two Payment Circuits
Transferring $200 abroad costs an average of 6.4% of the amount, while a bank transfer "eats up" almost 15%. At the same time, the payment order itself reaches the receiving bank in ten minutes. This is not just statistics—it is an illustration of where exactly the costs and delays are concentrated in the modern financial system.
The key problem is not in the speed of data transmission, but in the so-called "last mile": compliance checks, reconciliations, and crediting at the local bank. This is where time and money are lost, and this is precisely the area that regulators around the world are trying to reshape.
Global context: the race for a new architecture
Last week, on August 4, the Russian president signed the law "On Digital Currency and Digital Rights." Notably, this happened against the backdrop of diametrically opposed decisions in other jurisdictions. The United States has legislatively banned its digital dollar until the end of 2030, Europe has entered final negotiations on the digital euro, the Bank for International Settlements conducted its first real-money settlements in the Agorá project, and Mastercard closed a deal to acquire a company specializing in stablecoin settlements.
All these events answer the same question: "Whose obligation are you holding at the moment of settlement?" The answer determines whom to turn to if a payment goes missing and who benefits from the money while it sits in the system. This "balance" is the raw material of the banking economy: it is what profits are made on, loans are issued from, and customers are retained for.
The Russian response: two circuits instead of one
The Russian approach is unique in that the state is building two payment circuits simultaneously and regulating them differently. Domestically, starting September 1, mandatory acceptance of the digital ruble—the state's retail currency—begins. Externally, the circulation of private global assets such as Bitcoin and Ether is being legalized.
The logic behind the division is simple: domestically, the balance remains with the Bank of Russia, ensuring traceability of settlements and independence from external infrastructure. Externally, an asset is used that is not issued by any party to the transaction, making it an ideal tool where correspondent channels have become difficult to navigate due to external restrictions in recent years.
Key parameters of the new law
The law comes into force on September 1, 2026. Mandatory registration of crypto exchangers in the Bank of Russia registry will begin on July 1, 2027, and part of the requirements for intermediaries—from September 2027. A new category of professional participants emerges—digital depositories—which maintain records of clients' crypto assets, host primary and backup IT infrastructure in Russia, and compensate for damages in cases of unauthorized debits.
The criteria for admitting assets to trading are enshrined in the law: a market capitalization above 5 trillion rubles, an average daily turnover above 1 trillion, and a trading history of at least five years. Today, only Bitcoin and Ether meet these criteria. For non-qualified investors, a limit of 300,000 rubles per year per intermediary and mandatory testing are established.
Domestic payments in cryptocurrency remain prohibited. Not only custodial wallets are allowed, but also self-custody ones; for withdrawals exceeding 100,000 rubles to an external address, a 48-hour delay is provided, which will take effect on September 1, 2027.
My view on the situation
The division into two circuits is not just a regulatory whim but a pragmatic response to external restrictions. Domestically, the state retains control over the balance, which inevitably raises the question of privacy—the very reason the retail model was abandoned in the United States. Externally, it uses a decentralized asset that no one controls.
The key question for the next year and a half is not whether the circuits of different countries will be interconnected, but whether Russia will repeat the Chinese maneuver: will it accrue income on digital ruble balances or otherwise return them to the banking system. The answer will be visible in the dynamics of the deposit base by the end of 2027. If this does not happen, the digital ruble risks remaining a niche tool rather than a full-fledged replacement for cash.