The Bank of Russia has released its first set of draft rules governing organized trading of digital currencies and digital rights. The proposals extend existing securities-market systems for trading, custody, record-keeping, pricing and disclosure to cryptocurrencies and related assets.

These draft measures form part of the broader digital-assets framework approved by the State Duma on July 21 and the Federation Council on July 24. Most provisions of the underlying legislation are scheduled to take effect on September 1, 2026, with full compliance required by July 2027.

Capital Requirements for Digital Depositories

The drafts create regulated entities known as digital depositories. These firms will record ownership of cryptocurrencies and digital rights, maintain digital accounts and keep standardized transaction records. The central bank will maintain official registers of digital depositories, crypto-exchange operators and issuers of digital financial assets.

Capital requirements are tiered according to the services provided:

• Settlement depositories must hold 250 million rubles in capital.
• Firms that control crypto addresses or hold assets with foreign custodians must hold 100 million rubles.
• Other digital depositories must hold 50 million rubles.

All capital must consist of liquid assets that meet the central bank’s credit-quality standards. Parallel requirements apply to operators of electronic platforms that settle digital-financial-asset transactions through nominal accounts.

Trading and Reporting Obligations

Crypto exchanges and other authorized platforms will set their own trading procedures in internal rulebooks. They must calculate market prices and weighted-average prices for digital assets and digital rights traded on their systems. Reporting, monitoring and pricing processes will follow the same standards already applied to traditional currencies and securities.

Digital depositories must collect and maintain information on account holders, system participants and recorded assets under uniform procedures. Electronic-platform operators will oversee settlements through designated nominal accounts.

Legislative Context and Timeline

The draft rules were issued under the new digital-assets law and have been opened for public assessment and regulatory-impact review. The legislation permits the use of cryptocurrencies in cross-border business transactions while retaining the existing prohibition on their use for domestic payments.

Additional measures aimed at fraud prevention are planned for later in 2027. The central bank stated that digital depositories will operate under the same principles that govern traditional securities depositories.

The publication of the drafts follows recent Western sanctions packages that targeted Russian-linked crypto firms. Russian authorities have previously noted the country’s energy resources as an advantage for digital-asset mining and have explored cryptocurrencies as tools for international settlements.

The Bank of Russia’s proposals mark the operational groundwork for regulated cryptocurrency activity once the September framework takes effect.