A serious conflict is brewing in the State Duma over the regulation of the financial system. The leader of the "A Just Russia" faction, Sergei Mironov, has proposed a radical overhaul of the Bank of Russia's functions, which could in the long run also affect the emerging digital asset market.
The essence of the initiative and reasons for discontent
Mironov insists on dividing the powers of the mega-regulator along the lines of a number of Western countries, where issuing centers are responsible only for the stability of the financial system, while separate structures handle the credit sector. In his view, the current model does not work: the Central Bank does not ensure the availability of loans or reduce the debt burden on citizens, but only accumulates contradictions.
The reason for criticism is the gap between the key rate and the real cost of borrowing. On the one hand, since June 2025, the regulator has been consistently easing policy: on July 24, the rate was cut to 14% per annum—this is already the tenth consecutive reduction. On the other hand, the full cost of consumer loans in August approached 30% per annum, while microfinance rates continue to rise. Mironov estimates banks' excess profits at 3.5–3.8 trillion rubles in net profit, which they earn by maintaining high margins.
What this threatens for the cryptocurrency industry
The initiative does not directly mention digital currencies, but the risks to the industry are obvious. It is the Bank of Russia that has become the key regulator of the crypto market: it maintains registries of exchangers and digital depositories, and also determines the strictness of rules for participants. The law "On Digital Currencies" only sets the framework, but the real regulatory base is created by Central Bank by-laws.
In recent months, the regulator has built the entire structure of legal circulation to suit itself. At the end of July, the Central Bank published a draft of rules for margin trading in cryptocurrency, allowing leveraged transactions for qualified and unqualified investors. This was followed by a limit of 300,000 rubles per year for newcomers at each intermediary, and Central Bank Deputy Chairman Mikhail Mamuta promised to punish financial organizations for misselling—selling one product under the guise of another and concealing risks.
Industry experts note that it is the Central Bank that determines the strictness of the model, not the legislator. Alexander Brazhnikov, Executive Director of RACIB, considers the 300,000 ruble threshold the most distinctive feature of the Russian approach: it cuts off retail and forms a legal market for the chosen few—large capital and qualified participants without restrictions on amounts.
My view on the situation
For now, Mironov's initiative is a political statement, but the very fact of the dispute over the regulator's powers is highly telling. The by-law regulatory framework for the crypto market is only just being formed, and any redistribution of functions between agencies could freeze this process for months. If oversight of digital assets moves from the Central Bank to a new structure, market participants will have to adapt to completely different rules of the game, which will inevitably increase uncertainty for exchanges, exchangers, and investors.