Duma Gives Crypto the Treaty of Tordesillas Treatment, Minus the Pope 🌍

Russia's State Duma is scheduled to hold the second and third readings of a long-pending cryptocurrency bill on Tuesday, July 22, 2026, moving the draft legislation titled "On Digital Currency and Digital Rights" closer to final passage. Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, confirmed the schedule to RBC, and main provisions of the bill are slated to take effect September 1, 2026.

The legislation formally classifies crypto as property, not legal tender, leaving the Russian ruble as the only lawful currency for domestic transactions. Cryptocurrency use is restricted to cross-border settlements, a structure drafted in response to the SWIFT access restrictions imposed after 2022 sanctions. Analysts cited in regional reporting identified China and Turkey as immediate beneficiaries of the new settlement channel.

Retail investors face an annual purchase cap of 300,000 rubles ($3,800) conducted through licensed intermediaries. Qualified investors receive higher thresholds, with a 3 million ruble ceiling on purchases and 1 million rubles permitted for cross-border transfers. All trading platforms operating under the framework will require licensing under the established financial-market regime, a move intended to formalize the country's previously gray-market crypto activity.

The bill's passage through two readings on a single day signals broad parliamentary consensus after years of debate over how to integrate digital assets into Russia's sanctions-era financial architecture. Proponents frame the property designation as a legal foundation for courts and tax authorities to adjudicate disputes, while critics have questioned whether the retail caps and licensing requirements will push significant trading volumes into offshore venues.

For Bitcoin specifically, the legislation adds another jurisdictional data point as $BTC continues to be adopted or referenced by sovereign and corporate entities outside the Western financial system. The bill does not authorize $BTC or any other cryptocurrency for domestic retail payments, and the State Duma has not announced any subsequent readings related to a central bank digital ruble pilot beyond the framework already in testing.