Russia to Adopt Requirements for Cryptocurrency Transactions in 2026
The Bank of Russia plans to tighten controls over cryptocurrencies in 2026, ostensibly to reduce the risks associated with investing in tokens and cryptocurrencies.
The Central Bank has published a report on the regulation of the banking sector, in which a separate chapter is devoted to virtual currencies. According to the information provided in it, the department’s activities in this area are intended to reduce the threat to the financial stability of banks emanating from digital assets and protect the interests of their clients. To achieve this goal, officials have already asked banks to hedge risks by allocating capital to cover possible losses associated with cryptocurrency transactions and limit its size to 1% of the amount of funds on the balance sheet.
This appears to mean that banks will process cryptocurrency transactions worth no more than 1% of their savings and will begin to reject transactions exceeding this limit. Sberbank, which tops the rating of banks by the amount of assets on its balance sheet, holds ₽59,6 trillion, so it can be assumed that this company and its clients will be able to invest in tokens and coins directly and indirectly no more than ₽596 billion, for example, by buying shares bitcoin ETF at the Moscow Exchange.
Top 5 Russian banks by capital size
Next year, the Bank of Russia is going to develop and implement requirements for issuing loans to cryptocurrency enterprises and conducting transactions with digital assets. It is not yet known what regulatory measures will come into force, but given the rhetoric of the department’s employees, it is obvious that the Central Bank will tighten the screws. It is noteworthy that the regulator’s management has chosen a course to tighten its policy towards virtual currencies, despite recognition Bitcoin is the most profitable asset presented on the Russian market.
