It should be noted that the general background around the topic of cryptocurrencies in Russia is not so negative right now, which is primarily due to the devastating sanctions imposed on the state since February 24, 2022. At the end of March, for example, the Ministry of Finance publicly stated that they did not see the point in banning so-called domestic mining. In addition, they insisted on the need to develop industrial cryptocurrency mining.

Experts speculate that this trend will intensify – especially because of the Central Bank’s asset freeze. Representatives of the International Monetary Fund, for example, see mining as a possible way to circumvent sanctions.

Cryptocurrencies in Russia

Amendments to the federal tax code regarding cryptocurrencies are expected to be adopted before the end of the summer parliamentary session, according to Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma’s financial markets committee. The government-backed legislation includes a requirement to report transactions with digital assets if their total amount exceeds 600,000 roubles a year. For those who fail to report on time, there are fines of up to 40 per cent of the individual tax.

The bill passed its first reading in February 2021, after which it was stuck in limbo for almost a year for unknown reasons. According to Cointelegraph, Aksakov only referred to the recent delay in the discussion of the cryptocurrency tax amendments, pointing to the Duma’s task of developing an “anti-crisis policy”, which caused the regulation to be delayed for some time.

It is important to note, however, that the issue of cryptocurrency regulation in Russia has been lingering for some time. In particular, Putin ordered the introduction of a tax on mining operations back in October 2017, and three months later he demanded that a bill on cryptocurrencies be passed by the end of June 2018. The deadline did not meet this target.

Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets

Overall, while the Central Bank has advocated the idea of a direct ban on cryptocurrency trading and mining, it was amendments rather than such a harsh restriction on the industry that were proposed by the Ministry of Finance. It appears that the Central Bank is still sticking to its position, and the very tax amendments will be no exception. A Central Bank spokesperson said that “digital assets are used, among other things, for tax evasion”.

Overall, though, the tone regarding digital assets in the Russian Federation is gradually changing. In particular, in mid-April, Sergey Katyrin, president of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, suggested using crypto to make payments with countries in Africa. Read more about this in a separate article.

However, estimates of potential federal tax revenues from cryptocurrencies range from 10 to 20 billion rubles. The proposed tax would only be levied on income – 13 per cent on individual income and 20 per cent on corporate income. Qualifying investors would be able to get a tax deduction of 52,000 rubles or more per year. The taxes are unlikely to apply to assets accumulated before 2021, but will affect cryptocurrency transactions of Russian tax residents carried out in any jurisdiction.

In general, crypto is now seen in the Russian Federation as an opportunity to evade sanctions, although many experts have previously stated that the crypto market in its current form cannot become a full-fledged tool to combat US and EU economic restrictions. On Wednesday, the news outlet Izvestia published a note that the Federal Tax Service had left its official comment on the draft regulation of crypto in the country.

In its comments, the fiscal authority proposed allowing Russian companies to use cryptocurrency for certain transactions. Here is the relevant quote.

Allow legal entities to pay for goods and services under foreign trade contracts and receive proceeds from foreign entities in digital currency.

FNS RF

This initiative could fundamentally change the course of the proposed system, which previously ruled out any other role for digital currencies other than that of investment assets. The current draft has a clause stating that the prohibition on the use of cryptocurrencies as a method of payment applies “in all cases where this law does not specify otherwise”.

The FTS has proposed acting on this clause in order to diversify the payment options available to Russian companies engaged in international trade amid the harsh financial sanctions imposed on the country. The FTS also clarified that companies would have to buy and sell digital currencies through regulated cryptocurrency wallets and exchange platforms.


We believe that the topic of cryptocurrency regulation in the Russian Federation has been dragging on for an obscenely long time. Although the law on digital assets was adopted back in July 2020, no serious progress has been made since then, and Finance Ministry officials are still discussing the prospect of banning or encouraging the development of domestic mining. The topic of digital assets has been postponed many times before, so this may not be an exception. In addition, the infrastructure for taxation of profits from cryptocurrencies is also in doubt. As always, time will provide all the answers.


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