Russia registers first exchange operators and custodians under new crypto framework
Russia’s regulated crypto market opened on September 1 with four exchange operators and five digital custodians, including Sberbank and VTB Bank. The Bank of Russia admitted the firms through transitional provisions, with transaction and accounting duties starting immediately and full compliance required by September 1, 2027. Retail purchases face a yearly limit of 300,000 rubles per intermediary, and a proposed bank exposure cap would cover crypto and foreign digital instruments.
The legal basis came from an August law signed by Vladimir Putin, and the central bank used temporary arrangements to let companies start before remaining rules are finalized. The custody register includes Sberbank, VTB, Atomyze, Voltari and Cloud Infrastructure; the trading register lists VTB, Zefir, Sistema Crypto and T Invest Lab.
July proposals from the central bank set minimum capital between 50 million and 250 million rubles, depending on services involving open distributed ledgers and post-trade settlement. Sberbank plans to begin trading and custody on December 1, while VTB has indicated clients may trade via VTB My Investments as soon as November.
The opening of regulated exchanges and custodians could give Russian households and businesses a more supervised route into crypto, while the 300,000-ruble annual retail cap per intermediary may keep smaller savers constrained. Banks such as Sberbank and VTB may gain new service roles, but compliance costs and the 2027 deadline could favor larger institutions. Wider adoption may depend on whether users trust custody and trading under the new framework.