Russia Crypto Regulations: What's Banned, What's Allowed in 2025

When it comes to Russia crypto regulations, the official stance is a mix of outright bans and tightly controlled exceptions. Also known as Russian cryptocurrency laws, these rules don’t stop people from using crypto—they just make it risky and complicated. The government doesn’t recognize Bitcoin or any other digital asset as legal tender. That means you can’t walk into a store in Moscow and pay for coffee with Ethereum. But here’s the twist: you also can’t be arrested for owning it.

What’s banned? crypto payments Russia, any use of digital assets to buy goods or services within the country. This includes everything from online marketplaces to peer-to-peer transfers between friends. Violations can mean fines up to 200,000 rubles—or worse, criminal charges if it’s tied to sanctions evasion. But crypto mining Russia, is a different story. It’s not illegal. In fact, Russia has some of the cheapest electricity in the world, making it a hotspot for miners. The government even taxes mining profits like any other income, which means they’re not trying to stop it—they’re trying to control and profit from it.

Then there’s the gray zone: cryptocurrency legality Russia, especially for international business. If you’re a Russian company selling software to a client in Germany and you get paid in Bitcoin, that’s allowed—if you report it to the tax authorities and pay the 13% income tax. But you can’t convert that Bitcoin into rubles through a local bank. You have to use offshore exchanges. That’s why many Russians use P2P platforms like LocalBitcoins or Paxful, trading directly with buyers abroad. It’s not perfect, but it works. The Central Bank of Russia has pushed for a state-controlled digital ruble, and they’re not shy about saying they want to replace crypto with their own system. But that hasn’t stopped the underground crypto economy from growing.

People aren’t ignoring the rules—they’re working around them. Some use VPNs to access foreign exchanges. Others hold crypto in hardware wallets and treat it like gold: store it, don’t spend it. The tax authorities know this is happening. In 2024, they started requiring crypto exchanges to report transactions over 600,000 rubles. And if you’re caught hiding income? You’re looking at back taxes, penalties, and possible asset seizures.

So what’s the real picture? Russia crypto regulations aren’t about stopping crypto—they’re about keeping it under the state’s thumb. You can mine, you can hold, you can trade internationally. But if you try to use it like money at home, you’re breaking the law. The system isn’t foolproof, and it’s not designed to be. It’s a balancing act: control the flow, tax the gains, and keep the public from losing faith in the ruble.

Below, you’ll find real breakdowns of how Russians navigate these rules, what penalties they face, which exchanges they use, and how the ban on domestic payments is shaping the way crypto is actually used in the country.