Advertising crypto services in Russia: a new law, old prohibitions, and a strange transition period
Starting September 1, 2026, advertising of services related to the organization of cryptocurrency circulation will be permitted in Russia for the first time in two years. However, the direct ban on advertising the digital currencies themselves remains fully in effect. This dual situation creates a unique precedent in the market that will require participants to exercise particular caution and legal ingenuity.
Until recently, the answer to the question of advertising cryptocurrencies and related services was extremely simple: it is prohibited. Federal Law No. 221-FZ, which came into force on August 19, 2024, introduced a broad ban on advertising digital currencies, as well as goods, works, and services related to the organization of their circulation. This also applied to offers of digital currencies to an unlimited circle of persons. In practice, this meant that one could not write "Buy USDT at a favorable rate," "Exchange Bitcoin in 15 minutes," or advertise a crypto exchange as a place for exchange. The wording turned out to be so broad that the effect quickly extended far beyond the exchanges themselves.
Why the 2024 ban was logical
As I have repeatedly noted in my analytical reviews, the 2024 ban was quite logical from a legal standpoint. At that time, Russia completely lacked regulation of the organization of cryptocurrency circulation. The state effectively prohibited advertising this until a legal framework emerged. The example of mining is illustrative: in the same August 2024, the state legalized this activity, established requirements for miners, and created a separate regulated regime for them. However, Yandex.Direct almost immediately updated its rules and banned advertising of mining, crypto exchanges, blockchain, smart contracts, ICOs, and a number of other services. The result was a strange effect: the state allowed mining, but the largest advertising platform prohibited advertising it.
Today, Yandex's rules do still allow advertising of equipment and cloud resources for mining, educational materials, events, and a number of related services. At the same time, crypto exchanges themselves and mining as an activity remain among the prohibited categories in Russian Direct rules. Over these two years, the market has not been overly concerned about the advertising ban. This is especially evident in the example of Moscow City: even now, in public listings of exchangers, users are directly offered to buy and sell USDT, BTC, ETH, compare rates, and choose a specific service. Market participants continued to operate as if there were no advertising bans.
What changes in September
Now such a regime has emerged. Federal Law No. 282-FZ of 04.08.2026 "On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights" and Federal Law No. 283-FZ of 04.08.2026 have been adopted. The first creates the regulated organization of cryptocurrency circulation itself and defines its legal participants. The second restructures a large number of related laws, including the Law on Advertising. Both laws were officially published on August 4, 2026.
Starting September 1, 2026, the ban on advertising the digital currency itself remains in effect. Advertising Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, or any other specific digital currency is still prohibited. One cannot make BTC the "asset of the week," offer to "buy USDT today," promise growth of a specific coin, or push a person to choose one cryptocurrency over another.
However, advertising services for the organization of digital currency circulation is now permitted. Unlike in 2024, the state has created a regulated framework: the rules for organizing circulation are defined, and conditions are established for obtaining the statuses of legal crypto exchangers, digital depositories, and other participants. Banning these participants from informing the market about their services would, in my opinion, look strange. A separate permitted model for this is created by the new Article 29.2 of the Law on Advertising.
However, there is also a curious point. The new advertising conditions begin to apply already on September 1, 2026, and extend only to cryptocurrency circulation participants from the Central Bank registry. At the same time, the full regime, under which only registry participants are entitled to organize circulation, is activated only on July 1, 2027. Exchangers can operate under the old rules until that date, but the new advertising conditions do not apply to such players — they are not in the registry, which the Central Bank itself has not yet opened.
Thus, the market enters an unusual transition period. The new advertising rules already exist, but the new admission infrastructure is only being launched. As of August, the Bank of Russia has published draft procedures for maintaining registries and other necessary acts. This is not a complete legal vacuum — the law specifically provided for transitional mechanisms — but a certain regulatory desynchronization is evident here.
Expert opinion: The current situation is a classic example of a "regulatory fork in the road." On the one hand, the legislator demonstrates readiness to legalize the crypto industry; on the other, it creates a time lag during which legal participants cannot fully exercise their new rights. I recommend that market participants already now build their advertising strategies taking into account the upcoming requirements, but not rush into active campaigns until the official opening of the Central Bank registry. Otherwise, one may face legal uncertainty, which under current conditions could be interpreted not in your favor.