Russia's Crypto Bill Caps Tourists at $3,800, Whales at $39K 🪙

Russia's State Duma is scheduled to hold the second and third readings of draft bill No. 1194918-8, titled "On Digital Currency and Digital Rights," on Tuesday, according to Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets. Aksakov confirmed the timeline in comments to RBC, setting up a final parliamentary vote on legislation that would create Russia's first legal framework for digital assets and cross-border crypto settlement.

The bill introduces a tiered structure of investment limits distinguishing qualified investors from the general public. Non-qualified investors would be restricted to 300,000 rubles ($3,800) in annual crypto purchases through a single intermediary, with transfers abroad capped at 100,000 rubles. Qualified investors, by contrast, would face limits of 3 million rubles for purchases and 1 million rubles for transfers abroad, opening significantly wider access to digital assets for accredited market participants.

Aksakov said the legislation would create legal conditions for cryptocurrency use inside Russia and enable companies supplying goods to the country to settle transactions in digital assets "without excessive legislative and legal restrictions." The bill covers rules for investors, intermediaries, and cross-border operations, positioning crypto as a sanctioned tool for international trade settlement alongside its domestic investment use.

If passed in the upcoming readings, the main provisions of the bill are set to take effect on Sept. 1, according to the committee chairman. The move follows earlier experimentation by Russian financial institutions with digital asset infrastructure, including Alfa-Bank's recent testing of crypto trading services, signaling a broader institutional push toward formalized digital asset activity in the Russian market.