Russia’s New Crypto Bill Misinterpreted as Major Policy Change

Recently, misleading information spread claiming that Russia had officially adopted Bitcoin mining and cryptocurrency payments.

According to social media posts, Russia was said to have “embraced crypto,” “legalized cryptocurrencies,” and “approved a bill on cryptocurrency mining” while treating Bitcoin and crypto as foreign currency.

This information is largely inaccurate and was not part of a deliberate Kremlin disinformation campaign. Instead, the confusion stems from a lack of understanding about Russian legislation and the Kremlin’s history of making symbolic or non-committal statements about cryptocurrency.

Here’s what actually happened with Russia’s cryptocurrency legislation: The lower house of Russia’s parliament, the State Duma, passed a bill today allowing certain Russian businesses to use cryptocurrency for international transactions, not for domestic payments. This is the extent of the news—the passage of a bill, which has been known since November 2022, and which still requires enactment.

The bill will not take effect immediately. According to Reuters, implementation is not expected until September at the earliest, with the first transactions under this law expected later in the year.

Furthermore, the bill does not address domestic cryptocurrency use. It is focused solely on international payments and mining operations not related to trading or payments. Additionally, the bill mandates that Russia’s central bank develop new infrastructure for these transactions, but this infrastructure is still in the planning stages with no confirmed timeline for its rollout.