Russia has cautioned that investors could face losses if foreign stablecoin issuers freeze assets held beyond the control of Russian depositories. Officials estimate that residents currently hold around 3.7 trillion rubles, equivalent to roughly $44 billion, across crypto assets and related products.
TASS reported that Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov estimated Russia’s crypto user base at roughly 20 million, with daily transaction volumes reaching about 50 billion rubles, in an interview published on Sept. 22. He noted that the holdings figure covers direct cryptocurrency ownership as well as certain financial products tied to digital assets.
The Finance Ministry uses these figures as expert estimates rather than a complete government tally of every wallet and transaction. Officials expect the new regulatory framework to deliver more accurate data as crypto activity shifts toward licensed exchanges, brokers and digital asset depositories.
Foreign Stablecoin Freezes Could Leave Investors Facing Losses
Chebeskov said stablecoins issued by foreign companies pose risks because Russian infrastructure cannot always maintain control over them.
Chebeskov said there is a risk that foreign issuers could block assets, citing USDT and USDC as examples. Under the framework outlined by the deputy minister, a Russian digital depository remains liable for problems involving its own accounting, custody and transfer responsibilities, including the unauthorized disposal of customers’ assets.
Federal Law No. 282-FZ sets a distinct standard for actions taken by foreign entities. Article 20 allows contracts, including exchange rules, to specify that market operators, platform operators and clearing organizations bear no responsibility for customer losses resulting from foreign-law entities seizing digital assets or restricting transactions.
Chebeskov said a foreign issuer’s freeze, when triggered by circumstances beyond the Russian depository’s control, would not automatically make the depository responsible for reimbursing the customer.
The issue has already surfaced in Russia’s crypto market. In March 2025, Tether said it assisted the U.S. Secret Service in freezing $23 million in USDT linked to transactions involving the sanctioned Russian exchange Garantex. U.S. authorities later reported that a coordinated enforcement action had frozen more than $26 million in cryptocurrency controlled by the exchange.
As previously reported, Tether’s freeze prompted Garantex to halt operations after billions of rubles worth of USDT became inaccessible. The incident offers a documented example of issuer-level control that Russian officials now want investors to consider before purchasing foreign stablecoins.
Circle’s terms likewise say the issuer can block USDC addresses associated with prohibited activity and freeze tokens when a valid government order requires such action.
Russia Values Its Crypto Market at 3.7 Trillion Rubles
Chebeskov said experts estimate that around 20 million people in Russia currently use cryptocurrency.
The Finance Ministry estimates their combined exposure at nearly 3.7 trillion rubles. The figure includes cryptocurrency held directly as well as certain financial products linked to crypto, so it should not be viewed as a direct total of on-chain wallet balances.
Daily cryptocurrency activity is estimated at around 50 billion rubles. Chebeskov said regulators have not set a specific target for the share of that activity that must move through licensed channels by July 2027. Their immediate priority is to build a market where intermediaries, responsibilities and investor protections are clearly defined.
Russia’s primary cryptocurrency law came into force on Sept. 1. The Bank of Russia said both qualified and nonqualified investors can trade crypto through regulated intermediaries under the new framework. However, using cryptocurrency domestically to pay for goods and services remains prohibited.
As previously reported, Russia launched regulated cryptocurrency trading under Federal Law 282-FZ on Sept. 1, placing exchanges, brokers, custody providers and cross-border settlement activities under a formal supervisory framework.
For nonqualified investors, the law allows purchases of eligible liquid cryptocurrencies after testing, with an annual limit of 300,000 rubles through each intermediary. Qualified investors must also complete the testing process but are not subject to the same purchase cap.
Foreign Crypto Activity Will Trigger Tax Reporting
Russia’s new rules still allow residents to use cryptocurrency infrastructure outside the domestic regulatory system, while additional reporting requirements are being introduced.
Amendments to Russia’s currency-control law allow residents to use crypto addresses that Russian digital depositories do not administer. From May 2, 2027, covered residents must report transactions involving those addresses to tax authorities under procedures the government will establish in coordination with the Bank of Russia.
Chebeskov said Russian tax residents must disclose qualifying transactions carried out outside the regulated domestic system to the Federal Tax Service. The reporting rules apply to transactions involving addresses that Russian digital depositories do not control.
The rule does not prohibit self-custody. Federal legislation expressly allows residents to create addresses that are not administered by digital depositories, without imposing restrictions on their use. Reporting requirements cover relevant transactions and vary for some residents who spend more than 183 days outside Russia.
The Bank of Russia has also started issuing secondary regulations needed to run the market. In July, it outlined rules for organized crypto trading, digital accounts and depositories, with required depository capital set between 50 million and 250 million rubles depending on the services offered.
Independent cryptocurrency exchanges face a lower capital threshold. Under the central bank’s current admission rules, organizations that exchange digital currencies must maintain at least 15 million rubles in their own funds.
Market participants have until July 1, 2027, to secure the necessary approvals and align their operations with the new framework during the transition period.
Russian Stablecoin Model Remains Under Discussion
The Finance Ministry and Bank of Russia are separately assessing whether Russia should establish its own domestic stablecoin framework.
Chebeskov said it is “too early to discuss a specific model or final legislation.” Officials are assessing how such an asset could function, which transactions it might support and whether sufficient demand exists to warrant a separate framework.
Russian policymakers have previously explored the idea of locally issued stablecoins. After the Garantex freeze in 2025, Finance Ministry official Osman Kabaloev said the incident had encouraged officials to consider instruments similar to USDT but potentially tied to other currencies. As previously reported, Russia’s Finance Ministry also raised the possibility of creating a domestic stablecoin following the Tether freeze.
The existing law also extends Russian crypto-market requirements to stablecoins issued abroad. The Bank of Russia confirmed that regulations covering cryptocurrencies apply to foreign stablecoins under the country’s regulated trading framework.
Enforcement measures are still taking shape. Article 21 of Federal Law 282-FZ, which is set to take effect on July 1, 2027, requires banks to restrict payments to entities suspected of illegally facilitating cryptocurrency circulation outside the authorized framework.
A separate government bill would introduce criminal liability for unlicensed digital-currency market activities that cause significant losses or generate substantial illicit income. The State Duma has approved the proposal in its first reading, but lawmakers have not yet enacted it into law. The draft calls for prison sentences of up to seven years in aggravated cases and sets July 1, 2027, as the proposed effective date if it is adopted.
