Cryptocurrency Legalization and Tokenization in Russia

At the "Present Future" investment forum, representatives of the Central Bank of Russia, the Ministry of Finance, and major banks outlined their strategy for developing the crypto industry in Russia. Regulators and businesses are ready to establish a legal market for digital assets by the end of 2026.

New Rules

The Central Bank plans to create a fully legal cryptocurrency market by the end of 2026. For non-qualified investors, an annual limit of 300,000 rubles per intermediary will be introduced for purchasing digital currencies. Qualified investors will be able to trade any amounts without restrictions.

Moscow Exchange has already begun testing and plans to launch Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency trading on December 1. Sberbank is testing the ability to buy and sell BTC, ETH, and USDT in its "SberBank Online" app, with access opening for all clients around the same time.

Tokenization and Infrastructure

Sberbank CEO German Gref emphasized the priority of stablecoins, digital financial assets (DFAs), and the tokenization of real-world assets. The volume of DFA issuance could reach 900 billion rubles by 2026. Investors have already deposited approximately 2 billion rubles into bank instruments linked to cryptocurrencies.

The Ministry of Finance highlights billions in lost taxes due to the lack of domestic infrastructure. In the future, banks will be able to offer staking and crypto lending through a regulated environment. The tokenization of real-world assets will become a large-scale experiment in 2027.

Artificial Intelligence in Finance

Sber is testing an investment fund managed by AI agents, which will be available to clients in 2027. Tools for analyzing news and market rates are being developed. The Central Bank is also defining the boundaries of liability for financial AI agents and the procedures for shutting them down.