Cryptocurrency is ceasing to be an isolated financial world, and in Russia this process is receiving official recognition. From September 1, 2026, brokers and management companies will gain the legal right to act as intermediaries in transactions with digital assets. This decision fundamentally changes the rules of the game for domestic investors.

Previously, to buy bitcoin, you had to register on a crypto exchange, separately deal with fund transfers, storage, and tax reporting. Now the scenario becomes fundamentally different: you will be able to buy your first cryptocurrency in the same place where you are used to buying stocks and bonds.

Brokers do not need their own crypto exchange

The key point I highlight in this reform: to launch a new direction, brokers do not necessarily need to build their own infrastructure on the level of Binance. They already have a client base, funds in accounts, KYC procedures, apps, and reporting. Only the final link is missing—cryptocurrency liquidity and reliable storage.

The most logical model looks like this: a client buys BTC in a familiar broker app, while a specialized crypto partner handles trade execution, liquidity, and storage. This scheme already works successfully in the West—for example, at Interactive Brokers, where Paxos and Zero Hash provide this part of the infrastructure.

For a broker, this is significantly faster than creating a full-fledged crypto exchange. And for the client, the main thing is that there is no need to move to a separate financial ecosystem and independently deal with wallets, networks, and transfers.

A new client segment

At the same time, traditional crypto exchanges will not disappear anywhere. Active traders who need perpetual futures, hundreds of tokens, or DeFi instruments will remain on specialized platforms. However, a much more massive segment will emerge—an investor who needs bitcoin or ether as 5–15% of a diversified portfolio.

For such a client, the value of a broker is not in the number of tokens, but in the fact that cryptocurrency becomes part of a unified portfolio with stocks, bonds, and gold. This is no longer just buying a coin, but full-fledged portfolio logic: rebalancing, unified analytics, risk management, and the emergence of new investment products around digital assets. The Bank of Russia is already working on rules that will allow moving precisely in this direction.

Competition for simplicity

I would not frame the question as "who will win: brokers or crypto exchanges." The market will split: active crypto traders will remain on specialized platforms, while the mass investor, who needs a small share of cryptocurrency, may well move to a broker.

The main competitive advantage will not be the fee or the number of coins, but the simplicity of access. The ability to open a familiar app, sell some bonds, and buy BTC without moving to a separate infrastructure will matter more to the mass client than anything else.

In my assessment, the entry of brokers into cryptocurrency will change the market more than it seems at first glance. They will bring not a new token, but a new type of client—a conservative investor who previously did not even consider digital assets. This is exactly the catalyst capable of bringing the Russian crypto market to a fundamentally different level of maturity.