Russia to force crypto trades through licensed digital depositories

Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov said all cryptocurrency transactions in Russia will have to go through new digital depositories. Sberbank, VTB and T-Bank have already announced plans to launch such platforms.

Investors will bear losses if a foreign issuer blocks their assets. Tether froze $26 million worth of USDT linked to the Russian exchange Garantex in 2025.

Only Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT will be available to non-qualified investors. Crypto exchangers must hold at least 15 million rubles in capital. A new criminal offence will target unlicensed crypto dealing.

The ministry estimates daily crypto turnover in Russia at 50 billion rubles, with over 10 million Russian wallets still operating outside regulated infrastructure.

Based on information from https://cryptonews.net