Russia's Regulated Crypto Trading Volume Projected to Reach $46B in First Year

Russia is preparing to legalize cryptocurrency trading on regulated exchanges, and Sberbank predicts that the first year's trading volume will be around $46 billion. This estimate comes from Deputy Chairman Anatoly Popov, who stated that regulated exchanges are expected to handle between 3.5 to 4 trillion rubles in their first 12 months.

The new regulations go into effect on September 1, 2026, and will allow Russians to buy and trade crypto through licensed brokers, exchanges, asset managers, and depositories. Initially, only Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT will be available on regulated platforms, with a narrow menu of assets.

The law also sets purchase caps for non-qualified investors at 300,000 rubles ($3,800) per year, while qualified investors can buy up to 3 million rubles. Cryptocurrencies are still banned as a payment method for goods and services inside Russia.