Russia may begin blocking foreign cryptocurrency exchanges as early as July 2026 under a new regulatory plan. Authorities aim to shift up to $15 billion in annual trading fees to licensed domestic platforms, according to officials. Experts warn the measures could push traders toward VPNs and shadow markets.
Russia plans to block foreign cryptocurrency exchanges by summer 2026 as part of a new licensing regime. Officials aim to shift a daily trading volume of roughly $650 million onto regulated domestic platforms.
Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov stated that Russians trade about $640-650 million in crypto each day. The annual turnover exceeds 10 trillion rubles and largely operates outside regulation.
Sergey Shvetsov, chairman of the supervisory board of Moscow Exchange, estimated that Russian users pay around $15 billion a year in fees to foreign exchanges. Domestic platforms are preparing to compete for this revenue under the new law.
The proposed framework would license cryptocurrency exchanges and brokers while maintaining a ban on domestic crypto payments. Regulators plan to approve which cryptocurrencies can trade and may restrict privacy-focused coins.
Technical enforcement could involve DNS-level blocking and deep packet inspection by Roskomnadzor. Analyst Nikita Zuborev said authorities may also use data localization rules to justify restrictions.
Some experts believe demand for offshore services will persist through VPNs and peer-to-peer exchanges. The policy’s success will depend on domestic platforms building liquid markets and the government’s enforcement consistency.
