The Central Bank of Russia has listed the use of cryptocurrencies as a risk to financial markets, stating that stablecoins and other digital assets may be used by Russian residents as substitutes for the ruble. The bank also emphasized that unauthorized crypto operators may face criminal liability, and compliant institutions that violate market rules will also be subject to administrative penalties.

Central Bank Highlights Risks of Stablecoins

The central bank stated in its assessment "Main Directions for the Development of the Russian Federal Financial Market from 2027 to 2029" that crypto investments may carry the risk of total loss. It is also concerned that anonymous and decentralized transactions could increase the space for illegal activities.

The central bank stated that some digital assets lack a clear responsible party or underlying collateral, and in the event of a price drop, investors may have no one to hold accountable. It also pointed out that cross-border crypto markets can undermine the effectiveness of regulatory measures by a single country.

Regulatory frameworks are being tightened simultaneously.

Russia has recently opened its regulated domestic cryptocurrency market under the supervision of the central bank. A new framework that came into effect on September 1 allows investors to access approved digital assets through compliant intermediaries, but payments for goods and services are still prohibited.

Prior to this, Russia had proposed a scheme to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT on regulated exchanges. Non-qualified investors are limited to purchasing qualified crypto assets up to 300,000 rubles per year through a single intermediary, while qualified investors are not subject to the same restrictions.

Monitoring and law enforcement advance in tandem

The Russian Financial Monitoring Service Rosfinmonitoring has been granted the authority to supervise encrypted transactions. At the same time, customers of Russian digital custody institutions will be required to provide their tax identification numbers in order to link transactions with specific participants.

The central bank also disclosed that in August, 2,600 wallets associated with suspicious illegal financial activities were added to the blacklist. More than 1 billion rubles flowed into these addresses in the first half of the year.