Bank of Russia clarifies the crypto law: P2P until July 1, 2027 and a ban on withdrawals from a digital account to your own wallet

What the Bank of Russia clarified

On the digital currency page of its website, the Bank of Russia updated its answers to frequently asked questions, all marked "updated 12.10.2026". The update was not noticed right away: on October 15 the answers were covered by Izvestia, TASS, Kommersant, Vedomosti and Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

The answers concern Federal Law No. 282-FZ "On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights" of August 4, 2026, which took effect on September 1. Four of the central bank's eight answers concern ordinary people:

None of these provisions is new: all of them have been in the law since August. What is new is that the regulator, for the first time, answered with a plain "yes" or "no" the questions asked all September by everyone who buys coins on an exchange, via P2P or through a crypto exchange and keeps them in their own wallet.

What happens to P2P

Until July 1, 2027, direct transactions between individuals are allowed. After that date, as the Bank of Russia writes, the list of permitted operations in Part 1 of Article 30 "does not provide for" them. Residents will be able to buy and sell digital currency only through intermediaries, and the Bank of Russia's answer names two main types:

• a broker, a professional securities market participant licensed by the Bank of Russia;
• an organization that exchanges digital currencies, and only one included in the Bank of Russia registry.

Who is already in the registries can be seen on the same Bank of Russia page. According to Interfax, as of October 12 the registry of exchange organizations had nine participants, including Sberbank, VTB and T-Invest Lab, and the registry of digital depositaries had five, including VTB and Atomyze. We wrote about how Sberbank got into the Bank of Russia registry of crypto exchangers. On October 16 the Bank of Russia updated the registries again, so the lists may change.

For non-qualified investors, the Bank of Russia is preparing a limit on purchases through a broker within a calendar year (Directive No. 7441-U of 11.09.2026, still under registration at the Ministry of Justice). According to media reports, the target is 300,000 rubles a year, but this figure has not yet been confirmed in the final text.

The ban on withdrawals to your own wallet: what it really means

The most discussed answer is the sixth one. Headlines like "Bank of Russia bans moving crypto to a cold wallet" make it sound as if any self-custody wallet is now prohibited. That is not the case, and it is important to understand what exactly the question is about.

The Bank of Russia question is worded precisely: can digital currency be transferred from a digital account to a non-custodial wallet of the same person. A digital account means coins recorded at a licensed digital depositary from the Bank of Russia registry, that is, inside the new regulated perimeter. Coins bought through a Russian broker or a registered exchange organization will be held there, and the law does not allow withdrawing them from there to your own address.

The Bank of Russia's answer itself, however, is worded more broadly than the question: a "transfer of digital currency by an individual to a non-custodial wallet" under Part 9 of Article 31 "is not permitted", with no mention of a digital account. It answers the question about withdrawals from such an account, but how the Bank of Russia will interpret this rule in other cases is not yet known.

What follows from this, according to experts quoted by Frank Media:

• the non-custodial wallet itself is not prohibited, and you may keep one;
• you can deposit coins from your own wallet into a depositary, but you cannot withdraw them back to your own wallet;
• withdrawal from a depositary is possible only to the address of a foreign organization that has such a right.

The Bank of Russia does not say from when the withdrawal ban applies. Experts disagree: some say it has applied since the law took effect on September 1, 2026, while others link it to the next stage, a 48-hour delay on transfers when withdrawing more than 100,000 rubles, which starts on September 1, 2027. Most likely these are two different provisions, but there is no official clarification on the timing.

Liability: what is pending in the Duma

Alongside the Bank of Russia clarification, people recalled bill No. 1209607-8, which the government submitted to the State Duma on April 17, 2026. It adds Article 171.7 on the illegal organization of digital currency circulation to the Criminal Code. Liability there applies to those who organize circulation without the right to do so, not to buyers:

• the basic offense: a fine of 100,000 to 300,000 rubles, forced labor or imprisonment for up to 4 years;
• the aggravated offense: up to 7 years and a fine of up to 1 million rubles.

The bill passed its first reading on July 8, 2026, and is due to take effect on July 1, 2027. No second reading has been reported yet.

On the same day, October 15, the State Duma rejected in the first reading a bill from the Communist Party (CPRF) on gold-backed stablecoins for settlements in foreign trade. The Financial Markets Committee noted that the bill did not explain the mechanism of the gold peg.

What a crypto holder should do now

The key thing is to understand where your coins are held, because that determines which rules apply to them.

1. Coins in your own wallet. The Bank of Russia clarification does not take them away and does not prohibit holding them. We explained how your own wallet differs from an exchange wallet in our article on custodial vs non-custodial wallets.
2. You plan to buy through a Russian broker or a registered exchange organization. Keep in mind that what you buy will be held in a digital account at a licensed digital depositary and cannot be withdrawn to your own wallet.
3. You use P2P. Such transactions are allowed until July 1, 2027. After that, only through intermediaries from the Bank of Russia registries.
4. Do not trust retellings. Read the answers on the Bank of Russia page: the very first reports already mixed up dates, and one outlet wrote "from July 1, 2026" instead of 2027.

We wrote more about what the law requires from services and what it requires from people in our article on whether it is legal to exchange crypto without KYC in 2027.

Exchanging crypto to your own wallet: how it works here

We write for readers from many countries, and the rules for Russian residents from July 1, 2027 are only one set among them. Which path is legal in your case depends on the law of your country; if in doubt, it is better to check the text of the law or consult a lawyer.

VertEXchange works for people who keep coins in their own wallets. No account is needed: no email, no phone number, no password. You choose a pair, enter your wallet address and see the rate and the amount you will receive before sending. Coins arrive directly at your address, and the service does not hold them.

• A fixed rate is held for about 15 minutes while the transfer is confirmed.
• You can enter a refund address in case the exchange does not go through.
• Personal fields of an operation are deleted 24 hours after completion, and your exchange history stays only in your browser.
• Support chat is available on every page, and issues are resolved by the exchange code.

This way you can buy bitcoin with USDT TRC20 straight to your own address or exchange USDT to Monero without registration.

FAQ

Did the Bank of Russia ban non-custodial wallets?

No. The Bank of Russia said that digital currency cannot be transferred from a digital account at a digital depositary to your own non-custodial wallet. The law does not prohibit holding the wallet itself.

Until when are P2P transactions allowed in Russia?

Until July 1, 2027. From that date, according to the Bank of Russia answer, the law does not provide for direct transactions between individuals.

Through whom will it be possible to buy crypto from July 1, 2027?

Through brokers licensed by the Bank of Russia and organizations that exchange digital currencies listed in the Bank of Russia registry. As of October 12, 2026, the registry of exchange organizations had nine participants.

Can I send crypto to a friend through a digital depositary?

No. According to the Bank of Russia answer, transfers between individuals via addresses administered by a digital depositary are not allowed.

Will there be a limit on buying crypto?

The Bank of Russia is preparing a limit for non-qualified investors on purchases through a broker within a calendar year. The directive has not yet taken effect, and the figure of 300,000 rubles cited in the media has not been officially confirmed.

Is there criminal liability for buying crypto?

Bill No. 1209607-8 introduces liability for the illegal organization of digital currency circulation, that is, for those who organize circulation without the right to do so. It has only passed its first reading.