Russia to ban direct peer-to-peer crypto trades starting July 2027

Russia intends to prohibit direct peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trades beginning July 1, 2027, according to guidance issued by the country's central bank, the Bank of Russia. This restriction will require individuals to utilize authorized intermediaries for such transactions, ending their capacity to exchange crypto assets directly without intermediaries.

The Bank of Russia also clarified that individuals will not be permitted to transfer crypto assets from their digital accounts to their own non-custodial, or self-custodial, wallets. This decision follows the expansion of Russia's regulated crypto market, with the Bank of Russia recently authorizing Sberbank, the country's largest bank, to provide crypto exchange services as well as digital asset custodial services.

These new rules, which took effect on September 1, have placed exchange operators and custodians under the oversight of the central bank. It is worth noting that Russia continues to prohibit cryptocurrency payments for goods and services. Despite concerns from industry executives regarding the potential challenges in enforcing these restrictions on P2P trading and noncustodial wallets, such as the resilience of P2P trading to regulatory crackdowns and the exemption of hardware and desktop wallets from bans, the central bank remains firm in its decision.