Russia plans to ban direct peer-to-peer crypto trades from July 2027

Russia is putting an expiration date on one of the most popular ways its citizens buy and sell crypto. The Bank of Russia announced on October 12, 2026, that direct peer-to-peer transactions in digital assets will be banned starting July 1, 2027.

After that date, a trade between two people with no licensed middleman in between becomes off-limits. Every legitimate trade will need to pass through a regulated intermediary that answers to the central bank.

What the new rules actually do

The ban stems from Federal Law No. 282-FZ, which President Vladimir Putin signed on August 4, 2026. The law took effect on September 1, 2026, and sets up a formal framework for how digital assets can change hands inside Russia.

The core idea is simple. Most digital asset transactions must now run through licensed intermediaries, such as brokers, exchanges and depositories, that are officially registered with the Bank of Russia.

Direct P2P trades between individuals remain permitted until the July 1, 2027 cutoff. That window is meant to serve as a transition period, giving traders, platforms and intermediaries time to adjust before the informal route closes.

The law also sorts investors into two groups. Non-qualified investors, which in practice means most ordinary retail buyers, face a purchase limit of 300,000 rubles per year per intermediary for the most liquid digital assets, such as Bitcoin and Ether.

Qualified investors face no such cap.

Because the limit applies per intermediary, a retail investor could, in theory, spread purchases across multiple licensed platforms.

Self-custody was already squeezed

The P2P ban is not the first restriction to land. Existing rules already block transfers of digital assets from regulated accounts to non-custodial wallets.

Under the current regime, that move is prohibited from regulated accounts. The only exception covers cross-border settlements in foreign trade.

The framework also fits Russia’s broader stance. The country has been working to formalize its approach to digital currencies while continuing to prohibit their use for domestic payments.

The Sberbank forecast and the gray-market question

Sberbank, one of Russia’s major banks, estimates that regulated trading volumes could reach approximately $46 billion in the first year under the new rules.

There is a catch, though. A significant share of current trading activity may continue outside the regulated system, at least initially.

What this means for traders and platforms

For Russian retail traders, the practical shift is significant. Anyone who has relied on direct P2P deals has until mid-2027 to decide whether to move onto licensed platforms or step away from the domestic market.

Those who move will find a more supervised environment, but also tighter limits. The 300,000-ruble annual cap per intermediary for non-qualified investors puts a ceiling on how much ordinary users can accumulate through any single regulated channel.

The cross-border trade exception also deserves attention. It suggests Moscow still sees a role for digital assets in settling international commerce, even as it tightens control over how individuals use them at home.

Between now and July 1, 2027, the key signals will be how many intermediaries register with the Bank of Russia, how quickly regulated volumes build toward Sberbank’s estimate, and whether informal P2P activity actually shrinks or simply goes quieter.