Russia's Crypto Regulation Expected to Fail Due to Global Market Reach

The OSW Centre for Eastern Studies has published an analysis arguing that Russia's upcoming crypto regulation will likely fail due to the entities Moscow wants to regulate having no intention of staying inside the regulatory perimeter.

Russia's crypto market is massive, with a daily turnover of approximately 50 billion roubles ($650 million), and a annualized volume north of $200 billion. Most of this activity flows through foreign platforms.

The draft law proposes licensing trading platforms and custodians while banning domestic crypto payments. However, the growth of non-custodial wallets and decentralized finance (DeFi) usage makes it increasingly difficult for regulators to enforce compliance.