Russia will outlaw person-to-person crypto trades from July 1, 2027, forcing every ruble-for-USDT deal through licensed banks and brokers, the central bank confirms

Russia is closing the back door that has kept its crypto market running since the big exchanges left. Updated guidance posted by the Bank of Russia says that trades directly between individuals, the ruble-for-stablecoin deals done over bank cards that became the standard route to USDT after Binance sold its Russian business in 2023, remain legal only until July 1, 2027, Decrypt and Cointelegraph reported on Thursday. From that date, residents must trade through companies that "organize the circulation" of digital currencies, meaning brokers licensed by the central bank and registered exchange organisations.

The ban is written into Federal Law No. 282-FZ, signed by President Vladimir Putin on August 4 and in force since September 1, according to Decrypt. Its Article 30 lists what residents may do without a licensed intermediary, and from July 2027 person-to-person trades drop off that list. So do moving crypto from a digital account to a self-custody wallet, transfers between people through depository addresses and lending coins, which only brokers, trustees, exchange organisations and clearing houses may do. Paying for goods and services with crypto stays banned.

Ordinary investors face limits too: Decrypt reported that non-qualified investors may buy up to 300,000 rubles, about $3,600, of crypto a year after passing a test, and only bitcoin, ether or USDT. The licensed market is forming fast. Sberbank joined the central bank's register of exchange organisations on Monday and plans to launch its first crypto products on December 1, Decrypt said citing Interfax, alongside VTB and T-Invest Lab. Unregistered operators may keep going until the same July 2027 cutoff.