Cryptocurrency in Russia: taxes, mining and the September 2026 law
In short. You may own crypto in Russia and you may not spend it here. Since January 2025 the tax code treats digital currency as property, and your obligations depend on how you acquired the coins: selling goes into a separate base capped at 15%, while mining income meets the general scale that reaches 22%. A law taking effect on 1 September 2026 adds licensed intermediaries, an annual limit for ordinary investors and a duty to declare crypto held abroad.
- SELLING CRYPTO
- 13% or 15%separate tax base, 15% above ₽2.4m
- MINING INCOME
- 13% to 22%the general progressive scale
- PAYING WITH CRYPTO
- Prohibitedinside Russia
- MINING AT HOME
- Up to 6,000 kWhper month, without registering
- NEW LAW
- 1 September 2026intermediaries, limits, foreign holdings
- LEGAL TENDER
- Nothe rouble stays the only legal money
What the 2020 law settled
The law on digital financial assets answered the basic question in 2020. Russians may own, buy and sell digital currency, and they may not use it to pay for goods and services inside the country.
Six years and several laws later, that line sits where it was. Buy, hold, trade, mine and declare as you please; the moment you hand coins to a Russian shop in exchange for something, you have left what the law permits.
Two rates, depending on how you got the coins
The tax code has treated digital currency as property since 1 January 2025, under a law adopted at the end of November 2024. Your rate depends on the route the coins took.
Sell or exchange crypto and the gain goes into a separate tax base: 13% up to ₽2.4 million and 15% above it. That base stands apart from your salary, so a large trading year cannot push your wages into a higher bracket.
Mine it and the coins count as income from a Russian source on the general progressive scale, which since 2025 runs 13%, 15%, 18%, 20% and 22% by income level. Neither route carries VAT.
Miners report on a schedule. An individual miner sends monthly information on what was mined and to which wallet addresses by the 20th of the following month; infrastructure operators file quarterly on the miners they serve by the 25th, and a late quarterly filing costs ₽40,000.
Mining became an industry in 2024
Russia legalised mining from 1 November 2024.
Companies and sole traders now enter a state register to mine. An individual may mine without registering while consuming no more than 6,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month, which covers a handful of machines and rules out anything larger.
Where you mine matters as much as whether you registered. A government decision bars mining in a number of regions with strained power supply, running to 2031, so two identical operations can sit on opposite sides of the law depending on the address.
What changes on 1 September 2026
Parliament passed the bill on digital currency in its second and third readings, and the Bank of Russia states it takes effect on 1 September 2026.
The law recognises digital currencies and stablecoins as currency values and builds a licensed infrastructure around them: crypto exchanges and digital depositories, supervised and registered. Firms have until 1 July 2027 to bring themselves inside it.
Investors get sorted into two groups. Someone without qualified status may buy the more liquid crypto-assets after passing a test, up to ₽300,000 a year through any one intermediary. A qualified investor faces no volume limit and cannot touch anonymous coins. Residents holding crypto abroad have to tell the tax authorities, and paying with crypto inside Russia stays prohibited.
What this means if you are moving there
Russia wrote a detailed rulebook and pointed it inward.
The 13% to 15% band on trading gains sits below most of Europe, mining has a legal path, and the separate tax base keeps your trading away from your salary. The costs run the other way: you cannot spend crypto here, the ₽300,000 annual ceiling binds you until you qualify as an investor, foreign holdings need declaring, and the infrastructure taking shape is domestic and licensed. Read the September law before you plan around anything you find written about the old one.
Allowed
- Own, buy, sell and exchange digital currency
- Pay 13% on trading gains, or 15% on the part above ₽2.4 million
- Mine at home on up to 6,000 kWh a month without registering
- Mine as a company after entering the state register
Restricted
- Paying for goods and services with crypto inside Russia
- Mining in the regions a government decision excludes, in force to 2031
- Buying more than ₽300,000 of crypto a year per intermediary without qualified status, from September 2026
- Holding crypto abroad without telling the tax authorities, from September 2026
How the rules took shape
The law on digital financial assets makes ownership lawful and bars crypto payments inside the country.
Mining becomes legal from 1 November, with a state register and a 6,000 kWh monthly ceiling for individuals. A parallel regime opens for cross-border settlement experiments.
The tax code treats digital currency as property from 1 January: a separate base at 13% and 15% for sales, the general scale for mining, no VAT.
A law recognises digital currency as property for criminal procedure, allowing seizure and arrest.
The new law takes effect: licensed intermediaries, a ₽300,000 annual limit for unqualified investors and a duty to declare foreign holdings.
Worth knowing
Mining was legalised before crypto trading itself: the mining law took effect in 2024, while crypto only gains the legal status of property in September 2026.
Common questions
How much tax will I pay on a sale?
Thirteen percent up to ₽2.4 million of gain and 15% above that, in a tax base separate from your other income. VAT does not apply.
Is mining taxed differently?
Yes. Mined coins count as income from a Russian source on the general progressive scale, which runs from 13% to 22% by income level.
Can I mine at home?
Yes, without registering, as long as you stay under 6,000 kilowatt-hours a month. Beyond that you need to be a registered company or sole trader, and some regions bar mining outright.
Can I pay for things in crypto?
No. Russia has prohibited crypto payments for goods and services inside the country since the 2020 law, and the new law keeps that prohibition.
What happens on 1 September 2026?
Licensed crypto exchanges and digital depositories become the regulated route, unqualified investors face a ₽300,000 annual limit per intermediary after testing, and residents must declare crypto held abroad.
Sources
Other countries
Updated 21.08.2026 · this is reference material, not investment or tax advice