The Bank of Russia has published draft rules requiring crypto depositories to hold up to $2.8M in liquid capital ahead of a September digital assets framework launch.
Crypto Regulation News
Russia's central bank moved quickly after the country's parliament approved a digital assets bill last week. The Bank of Russia published draft regulations on July 28 outlining how cryptocurrency exchanges and a new class of entity called digital depositories would operate. The proposals represent the first detailed operational rules the country has produced for organized cryptocurrency trading.
The State Duma passed the underlying digital assets bill on July 21. The Federation Council approved it on July 24. That legislation created a legal path for regulated retail crypto trading in Russia while keeping the existing ban on the use of cryptocurrency as a domestic payment method in place. The full framework is expected to take effect in September 2026.
How Digital Depositories Would Work
Digital depositories are a core feature of the draft rules. These would be regulated companies responsible for recording and maintaining holdings of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. The Bank of Russia said they would function under the same principles already applied to traditional securities depositories. The central bank said it would maintain an official register of all digital depositories.
Capital requirements for depositories vary based on the services they provide. Firms offering post-trade settlement services would need to hold 250 million rubles (approximately $2.8 million). Companies that control crypto addresses or hold assets through foreign custodians face a minimum of 100 million rubles (around $1.1 million). All other digital depositories would need at least 50 million rubles (roughly $570,000). Every asset counted toward those thresholds must be liquid. Any financial instruments included must meet the central bank's credit-quality standards.
Related Article: Russia Passes Crypto Law With $3,800 Retail Cap
Exchanges and Electronic Platforms Face New Rules
Crypto exchanges operating under the framework would write their own internal trading rulebooks. They would also take responsibility for calculating market prices and weighted average prices for the assets traded on their platforms. Electronic platform operators that settle digital financial asset transactions face the same capital requirements as digital depositories.
The draft framework extends existing rules from Russia's securities markets into the digital asset sector. Those rules cover exchange trading, custody, record-keeping, and disclosure. The central bank said it will also maintain registers of crypto exchange operators and companies that issue digital financial assets. The proposals are not yet final and have been published for public regulatory impact assessment before the September deadline.
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