Advertising crypto services in Russia: a paradoxical transition period begins on September 1
Starting September 1, 2026, new advertising rules for the crypto industry come into effect in Russia. For the first time in two years, the promotion of services for organizing digital currency turnover will be legalized. However, the ban on advertising crypto assets themselves remains in force. The market is entering a unique transitional period full of legal nuances.
Until recently, the answer to the question about cryptocurrency advertising was extremely simple: it is prohibited. Federal Law No. 221-FZ of August 19, 2024, introduced a broad ban covering not only digital currencies themselves but also any goods, works, and services related to their turnover. This automatically blocked the promotion of exchangers, as well as offers like "Buy USDT at a favorable rate" or "Exchange Bitcoin in 15 minutes."
The wording turned out to be so comprehensive that its effect extended far beyond exchange services. The example of mining is telling: the state in the same August 2024 effectively legalized this activity, creating a regulated regime for miners. At the same time, Yandex.Direct almost simultaneously updated its rules and banned advertising of mining, crypto exchangers, blockchain, smart contracts, ICOs, and related services. An absurd situation arose: the activity is permitted, but talking about it is not.
Today, Yandex's rules allow advertising of equipment and cloud resources for mining, educational materials, and events. But the exchangers themselves and mining as a type of activity remain on the list of prohibited categories. Notably, the market has lived its own life over these two years: in public collections, users are directly offered to buy and sell USDT, BTC, ETH, compare rates, and choose a service. Advertising bans were, in essence, ignored.
Why the 2024 ban was logical
From a legal standpoint, the 2024 ban was quite rational. At that time, Russia completely lacked regulation of cryptocurrency turnover organization. The state simply prohibited advertising what had no legal framework. It was a forced measure until legislation was introduced.
What changes in September
Now such a framework has emerged. Federal Law No. 282-FZ of 04.08.2026 "On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights" and No. 283-FZ were adopted. The first creates a regulated organization of cryptocurrency turnover and defines its legal participants. The second restructures related laws, including the Advertising Law. Both were officially published on August 4, 2026.
From September 1, 2026, the ban on advertising digital currency itself remains. You cannot make BTC the "asset of the week," offer to "buy USDT today," or promise growth of a specific coin. However, advertising services for organizing digital currency turnover is now permitted. The state has created a regulated framework: rules are defined, as are conditions for obtaining the status of legal crypto exchangers, digital depositories, and other participants. Banning them from informing the market about their services would be strange. A separate permitted model for this is created by the new Article 29.2 of the Advertising Law.
Here lies the main paradox. The new advertising conditions begin to apply as early as September 1, 2026, but they only extend to participants in cryptocurrency turnover from the Central Bank's register. The full regime, under which only registered participants are entitled to organize turnover, activates 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 register, which the Central Bank itself has not yet opened.
The market enters an unusual transitional period. The new rules already exist, but the new licensing infrastructure is just being launched. As of August, the Bank of Russia published draft procedures for maintaining registers and other acts. This is not a complete legal vacuum — the law specifically provided transitional mechanisms — but the regulatory inconsistency is obvious.
My analysis: This situation creates a window of uncertainty for businesses. On the one hand, legal players gain the right to advertise; on the other, the Central Bank's register is not yet formed, meaning the first real promotion cases will appear no earlier than 2027. For the market, this is rather a positive signal: the state is moving toward legalization, albeit with reservations. However, full clarity in advertising campaigns for crypto services is still far off.