Russia Launches Regulated Cryptocurrency Market on September 1

Russia's Central Bank has launched a regulatory framework for organized trading in digital currencies and digital rights, effective September 1, 2026. The new system requires licensed intermediaries, exchanges, brokers, and exchangers connected to trade organizers, to facilitate transactions.

Anonymous peer-to-peer schemes and gray-market exchangers will no longer be allowed, while trading itself will fall under the regulator's direct oversight, including disclosure of trade data and calculation of an official market price.

The Bank of Russia has created a list of required rules for exchanges, which include calculating the market price and weighted average price at the close of trading sessions, publicly disclosing trading information to investors, and transmitting trade data to the Central Bank in real-time.