Experts assess the punishment for illegal cryptocurrency circulation in Russia - ForkLog: cryptocurrencies, AI, singularity, future

# Experts Assess Punishment for Illegal Cryptocurrency Circulation in Russia

The government commission on legislative activity approved provisions that imply criminal liability for illegal operations with cryptocurrency. This is reported by “RIA Novosti”

ForkLog discussed with experts who will be primarily affected by these measures, what risks will arise for exchange offices, and whether the new regulation model can displace the existing “gray” segment.

Context

The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation proposed adding a new Article 171.7 — on the illegal organization of digital currency circulation. It introduces liability for activities related to organizing the circulation of digital currency without registration or a license from the Bank of Russia.

The introduction of new measures was first announced earlier by the Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank, Vladimir Chistyukhin.

Punishment will depend on the amount of damage caused. The basic penalty includes a fine of up to 300,000 rubles, forced labor, or imprisonment for up to four years.

For qualifying signs, including if the act is committed by a group or in a particularly large amount, the term can increase to seven years, and the fine — up to 1 million rubles.

A large amount of damage is considered to be from 3.5 million rubles, and a particularly large amount — from 13.5 million rubles.

The amendments will become part of the bill “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights,” which may come into force on July 1, 2026.

Who will be punished

Olga Zakharova, Director of the Legal Department of “PLAN B,” emphasized that punishments will not apply to one-time cryptocurrency exchanges, i.e., not to ordinary digital asset users.

Illegal circulation is understood as activities related to organizing the circulation of virtual currency, including:

• services for accounting cryptocurrencies and conducting transactions with them;
• any other services related to organizing their circulation — if Russian infrastructure is used in the process.

Not only exchange offices are at risk, but also any services that facilitate transactions or provide infrastructure, Zakharova explained. The law will also affect foreign companies if they use Russian bank accounts, electronic money, or elements of the national payment system.

Main risk for exchange offices

The key problem for the market is not the fact of criminal liability itself but how easily it can be approached, believes Ignat Likunov, founder of the legal agency Cartesius.

He pointed out the threshold of 3.5 million rubles. For the crypto market, this is a relatively small amount.

“In simple terms, if an exchange bought, say, 40,000 USDT or 50,000 USDT, which are considered crypto, incurred expenses, and then sold them at a higher price, earning 1%, then it already exceeded the 3.5 million threshold and accumulated part of the first offense,” explained the expert.

This means that even standard operations can formally fall under criminal articles.

Likunov highlighted an additional risk related to qualifying activity as a group of persons. According to him, almost any exchange office is a small organization: there is an operator, a manager, a leader, sometimes couriers.

In such a configuration, the business could fall under more severe charges with maximum penalties.

Why are these measures needed at all

Experts generally agree that this is not about a one-time punitive initiative but an attempt to bring the crypto market into a regulated framework.

Andrey Tugarin, founder of the legal firm GMT Legal, noted that the main goal of the new set of bills is to regulate the organizers of digital currency circulation. Primarily, this concerns cryptocurrency exchanges, although the scope of participants is broader.

“In Russia, finally, the crypto market will move from the gray zone to a legal and illegal stage. There will be nothing intermediate in this regard. The new law will allow obtaining legal status to start activities related to organizing cryptocurrency circulation in the Russian Federation,” he said.

Likunov shared a similar view. According to him, criminal liability did not appear suddenly but was initially included in the licensing bills. Now, sanctions are also coming into play.

“This is an absolutely normal, understandable, and logical chain of development when we talk about the beginning of regulation of a market in principle,” the interlocutor emphasized.

Zakharova also linked the amendments to the future law “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights.” These measures, as well as previously proposed amendments to the Administrative Code regarding cryptocurrency exchange and illegal mining, are intended to ensure compliance with rules that will be established by the new fundamental law.

Can the legal market replace the existing one

Likunov called the question of where the existing market will go after licensing begins the “most interesting.”

He referred to the draft law framework and comments from Central Bank representatives, which suggest that the regulator envisions a future model through digital depositories, brokers, operators, and licensed crypto exchanges.

However, many key aspects remain unclear. For example, it is uncertain whether legal participants will be able to work with USDT — currently the main asset in circulation in cryptocurrencies.

Restrictions are also being discussed:

• possible rejection of cash transactions;
• limits for non-qualified investors.

According to the expert, if restrictions are introduced, the legal market will be too narrow and unable to meet the actual needs of businesses.

Likunov provided a practical example: with limits and restrictions, users may simply not be able to buy cryptocurrencies in the necessary volumes for transactions, such as in foreign economic activities.

“There will be two parallel worlds. One is the current one, and the other is licensed,” he summarized.