Russia has warned that investors may have to absorb losses when foreign stablecoin issuers freeze assets outside a Russian depository’s control, as officials estimate residents hold 3.7 trillion rubles, or roughly $44 billion, in crypto and related products.
Summary
- Russia estimates roughly 20 million crypto users collectively hold 3.7 trillion rubles in digital assets.
- Daily Russian crypto transactions total about 50 billion rubles, according to Deputy Finance Minister Chebeskov.
- Investors may bear losses when foreign stablecoin issuers freeze assets beyond direct Russian depositories’ control.
- Russian tax residents must report qualifying crypto activity conducted outside domestic regulated infrastructure beginning 2027.
- Nonqualified investors face a 300,000-ruble annual purchase cap through each intermediary after mandatory testing requirements.
TASS reported that Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov put Russia’s crypto user base at around 20 million and daily transaction volume at approximately 50 billion rubles during an interview published Sept. 22. He said the holdings estimate includes direct cryptocurrency ownership and some financial products linked to digital assets.
The figures are expert estimates used by the Finance Ministry, not a complete government count of every wallet or transaction. Officials expect the new regulated framework to provide more precise data as activity moves through licensed exchanges, brokers and digital depositories.
Foreign stablecoin freezes can leave investors with losses
Chebeskov said foreign-issued stablecoins create a risk that Russian infrastructure cannot always control.
“The risk of assets being blocked by a foreign issuer does exist,” he said, using USDT and USDC as examples. Under the framework described by the deputy minister, a Russian digital depository remains responsible for failures in its own accounting, custody and transfer duties, including unauthorized disposal of customer assets.
Federal Law No. 282-FZ draws a separate line for actions carried out by foreign entities. Article 20 permits contracts, including exchange rules, to state that market operators, platform operators and clearing organizations are not liable for customer losses caused by foreign-law persons that seize digital assets or restrict transactions.
Chebeskov said a freeze imposed by a foreign issuer for reasons outside the Russian depository’s control would therefore not automatically require the depository to reimburse the customer.
The issue has already appeared in Russia’s crypto market. Tether said in March 2025 that it helped the U.S. Secret Service freeze $23 million in USDT connected to transactions involving sanctioned Russian exchange Garantex. U.S. authorities later said a coordinated enforcement operation froze more than $26 million in cryptocurrency controlled by the exchange.
As previously reported, Tether’s freeze forced Garantex to suspend operations after billions of rubles in USDT became inaccessible. The incident provides a documented example of the issuer-level control Russian officials now want investors to understand before buying foreign stablecoins.
Circle’s terms similarly state that the issuer can block USDC addresses linked to prohibited activity and may freeze tokens when required by a valid government order.
Russia puts its crypto market at 3.7 trillion rubles
Chebeskov said experts estimate about 20 million people in Russia currently use cryptocurrency.
Their combined investment exposure stands near 3.7 trillion rubles, according to the Finance Ministry estimate. The amount covers cryptocurrency held directly alongside certain crypto-linked financial products, meaning it should not be treated as a pure on-chain wallet-balance total.
Daily crypto activity is estimated at roughly 50 billion rubles. Chebeskov said regulators are not setting a fixed target for how much of that activity must migrate into licensed channels by July 2027. Their immediate focus is creating a market where intermediaries, responsibilities and investor protections can be identified.
Russia’s main cryptocurrency law took effect on Sept. 1. The Bank of Russia said both qualified and nonqualified investors may trade crypto through regulated intermediaries under the new framework. Domestic use of cryptocurrency as payment for goods and services remains prohibited.
As previously reported, Russia opened regulated cryptocurrency trading under Federal Law 282-FZ on Sept. 1, bringing exchanges, brokers, custody providers and cross-border settlement activity into a formal supervisory structure.
For nonqualified investors, the law permits purchases of eligible liquid cryptocurrencies after testing, capped at 300,000 rubles per year through each intermediary. Qualified investors must pass testing as well but do not face the same purchase ceiling.
Foreign crypto activity will trigger tax reporting
Russia’s new rules preserve the ability of residents to use cryptocurrency infrastructure outside the domestic regulated system, but reporting requirements are being added.
Amendments to Russia’s currency-control law state that residents can use addresses not administered by Russian digital depositories. Starting May 2, 2027, covered residents must submit reports to tax authorities on crypto operations involving such addresses, subject to procedures set by the government in coordination with the Bank of Russia.
Chebeskov said Russian tax residents will need to disclose qualifying transactions conducted outside the regulated domestic perimeter to the Federal Tax Service. The reporting framework covers transactions using addresses that Russian digital depositories do not administer.
The rule does not ban self-custody. Federal legislation explicitly permits residents to open non-depository-administered addresses without restriction. Reporting obligations apply to relevant transactions and differ for some residents who spend more than 183 days outside Russia.
The Bank of Russia has meanwhile begun publishing the secondary regulations needed to operate the market. It outlined rules covering organized crypto trading, digital accounts and depositories in July, with required depository capital ranging from 50 million to 250 million rubles depending on the services provided.
Independent cryptocurrency exchanges face a lower threshold. The central bank’s current admission rules set minimum own funds at 15 million rubles for organizations exchanging digital currencies.
Market participants receive a transition period running through July 1, 2027, to obtain the required approvals and bring their operations into line with the framework.
Russian stablecoin model remains under discussion
The Finance Ministry and Bank of Russia are separately studying whether Russia should develop a domestic stablecoin structure.
Chebeskov said it is “too early to talk about a specific model or a final bill.” Officials are examining how such an asset might operate, which transactions it could support and whether there is enough demand to justify a separate framework.
Russian policymakers have discussed local stablecoin alternatives before. Following the Garantex freeze in 2025, Finance Ministry official Osman Kabaloev said the episode had prompted officials to consider instruments similar to USDT but potentially linked to other currencies. As crypto.news previously reported, Russia’s Finance Ministry raised the possibility of a domestic stablecoin after the Tether freeze.
The current law already applies Russian crypto-market requirements to foreign stablecoins. The Bank of Russia confirmed that rules governing cryptocurrencies apply to foreign stablecoins as part of the regulated trading regime.
Enforcement provisions are still developing. Article 21 of Federal Law 282-FZ, scheduled to take effect July 1, 2027, requires banks to restrict payments to entities suspected of illegally organizing cryptocurrency circulation outside the authorized framework.
A separate government bill would create criminal liability for unlicensed digital-currency market operations that cause large losses or generate large illicit income. The State Duma has passed the proposal in first reading, but it has not become law. The draft provides prison terms of up to seven years for aggravated cases and proposes a July 1, 2027 effective date if enacted.
