Russia has warned cryptocurrency investors that they will bear losses themselves if foreign issuers freeze their assets, highlighting one of the sanctions-related risks facing the country’s rapidly expanding crypto market.Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov said Russian digital depositories would not be responsible when assets are frozen by overseas issuers for reasons beyond the custodian’s control. The warning applies particularly to centralized foreign-issued stablecoins, which can be frozen at the issuer level.The comments come as Russia estimates approximately 20 million people in the country now use cryptocurrency.Chebeskov put their combined investment at around 3.7 trillion rubles, or more than $44 billion, while average daily crypto transaction volume has reached roughly 50 billion rubles — close to $600 million. The investment estimate includes direct cryptocurrency holdings as well as some financial products linked to digital assets.
Foreign Stablecoins Leave Russian Investors Exposed
The freeze risk reflects a fundamental feature of centralized stablecoins. Unlike Bitcoin, tokens such as USDT and USDC are issued by companies that retain technical control allowing particular addresses to be blocked when required by sanctions, law-enforcement orders or their own compliance policies.That creates an unusual problem for Russia’s new regulated crypto infrastructure: a domestic custodian can legally safeguard an investor’s tokens while still having no ability to prevent a foreign issuer from freezing them.Chebeskov said such cases have already occurred. Under the emerging framework, the resulting financial loss remains with the investor rather than being transferred to the Russian depository holding the assets.The issue is especially relevant because USDT is among the highly liquid crypto assets available to ordinary Russian investors under the country’s new regime.Russia is simultaneously trying to reduce its dependence on foreign crypto infrastructure. Chebeskov said authorities had identified more than 10 million Russian-linked wallets on foreign platforms, and the government wants more of that activity to migrate toward its regulated domestic ecosystem.Russian tax residents must also report transactions involving addresses outside the domestic regulated depository system to the Federal Tax Service.
$44 Billion Market Moves Into Regulated System
The warning comes during Russia’s biggest restructuring of cryptocurrency regulation to date.Legislation governing cryptocurrency circulation took effect on September 1, 2026, allowing both qualified and ordinary investors to trade through regulated intermediaries. Retail investors who pass the required test can purchase approved liquid cryptocurrencies up to 300,000 rubles annually through each intermediary, while qualified investors face no equivalent monetary ceiling.The infrastructure will include licensed crypto exchanges and digital depositories responsible for recording ownership rights.The Bank of Russia expects new licensed participants to begin entering the market before the end of 2026, although the transition period continues into 2027. First Deputy Governor Vladimir Chistyukhin said this week that the crypto industry should begin operating inside the new legal framework as those participants receive expanded powers.Russia is keeping a clear distinction between crypto investment and payments. Domestic payments in cryptocurrency and stablecoins are prohibited, while their use in qualifying foreign-trade settlements remains permitted under currency-control and anti-money-laundering requirements.The scale disclosed by the Finance Ministry helps explain the regulatory push. At 3.7 trillion rubles in estimated holdings and 50 billion rubles of daily turnover, crypto is already a substantial retail financial market in Russia.Bringing that activity under domestic supervision may give Moscow greater visibility over investors and intermediaries. But the stablecoin warning exposes a limit to that control: Russia can regulate its custodians, exchanges and investors, but it cannot prevent a foreign stablecoin issuer from freezing tokens under its own compliance obligations.