Russia Proposes Simplified Crypto Licensing Process for Banks and Brokers

• The Central Bank of Russia suggested that banks and brokers get crypto exchange licenses via a simple notification process.
• CBR Governor Elvira Nabiullina said that banks can only invest up to 1% of their capital in crypto at first, to keep risks low.

The Russian central bank has announced a significant change as it regulates digital assets, suggesting that commercial banks and brokers are allowed to obtain licenses for cryptocurrency exchanges through a simple process instead of going through the entire licensing procedure.

According to theInterfax reports, Central Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina said at the annual meeting of lending institutions with the Central Bank that the institutions could receive crypto exchange authorization through a notification process and operate as intermediaries based on their current banking licenses. 

As part of a cautious approach, Nabiullina believes that existing experience in preventing money laundering, fraud, and terrorist financing could help protect clients when crypto is legalized. With that, she proposed a temporary restriction on banks’ participation in the asset class as part of a cautious approach to risk. 

As she added, “However, we would still like to limit the level of risk a bank takes in this area to one percent of capital. Let’s start by seeing how banks operate within the one percent cap, and then see whether we need to move forward.” 

Blocking Unregistered Crypto Exchanges

Even as banks and brokers gain a simplified path to crypto licensing, last month, Russia announced plans to block crypto exchange and big crypto platform websites that are not officially registered in Russia as early as this summer, which shows Russia’s commitment to keeping crypto activity within regulated channels.

Also, Sergey Shvetsov of the Moscow Exchange added that worldwide crypto exchanges are receiving about $15 billion in fees from Russia, and the exchange aspires to enter the market in order to collect those fees and increase revenues.

Further, the Interfax reports mentioned that previously,  in December 2025, Russia’s Central Bank proposed crypto regulations recognizing digital currencies and stablecoins as tradable assets, but not for domestic payments. Exchanges, brokers, and trustees can operate under existing licenses. Qualified investors face no limits, while others can buy up to 300,000 rubles annually. While the bill will go to parliament in March and likely pass in the spring.