Russia has introduced a new law that requires crypto users to provide a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) before opening an account. Vlada Gracheva, advisor to the Director of Rosfinmonitoring, stated this during a recent announcement, noting that the new rule is part of the government’s fight against money laundering.
Gracheva explained that clients’ TIN is becoming a new mandatory identifier for ensuring the trans[arency of crypto transactions. It is a 12-digit number assigned to Russian citizens and used throughout the federation. Beyond the cryptocurrency ecosystem, the Russian government also plans to extend the TIN requirement to regular bank accounts by 2027.
Introducing a mandatory TIN requirement for regulated crypto account access in Russia will transform the region’s crypto environment from an anonymous retail ecosystem into a strictly monitored, tax-linked industry. It will also affect how users access, open, and maintain regulated cryptocurrency accounts.
Under the new law, crypto users will no longer register or access their accounts unless they fulfill the full, bank-grade Know Your Customer (KYC) standards. Before enacting the latest law, they could create accounts by providing basic email addresses and passwords. The onboarding and reporting framework also shifts to mirror the regulations used by traditional Russian brokerage firms. That is because crypto in Russia is now officially classified as taxable property.
To open an account with a licensed digital exchange in Russia, users need to provide their Tax Identification Number (TIN/INN), government-issued passport details, verified proof of address, and source-of-funds documentation. Subsequently, the platforms would screen users’ submitted details to ensure they pass the Mandatory Investor Risk Test and Tiered Investor Profiling.
For clarity, the new regulation is already in place, with implementation starting September 1, 2026. However, the Russian government has provided an official transition period lasting until July 1, 2027. Currently, Russia legally recognizes cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, and USDT as taxable property.
Beyond users’ access, July 1, 2027 also serves as a deadline for crypto operating companies to regularize their licensing status. Unlicensed or non-compliant exchanges that miss the deadline will face severe penalties or outright bans. Therefore, account holders’ access would depend on how these platforms respond to the new regulation.
Complying platforms will typically prompt users to update their profiles by providing the required details and passing the retail investor risk test. Failure to meet these requirements would lead to account restriction or blocking from domestic trading and fiat withdrawals.
Under the new regulation, licensed platforms in Russia must capture and report granular transactional and technical data. The reporting is categorized by transaction size and activity type. The main categories include Core Transaction Metadata, which captures asset type and volume, fiat valuation, timestamp, and account balances.
Trading platforms will report high-value transfers starting from transactions worth around $650, providing counterparty identities, wallet address identifiers, and transaction purposes. They will also report technical footprints and device data, with unique reporting protocols for miners that cover their mined inventory and infrastructure registry.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});The new law also imposes severe structural barriers between the self-custody ecosystem and the Russian economy, considering how technically impossible it is to block on-chain transactions on a decentralized protocol. On that note, the new regulation prohibits Russian crypto users from transferring cryptocurrency directly from domestic, licensed platforms straight into a private self-custody wallet.
Self-custody crypto users must first route the funds to a foreign custodial exchange or foreign bank account before transferring them to their private keys. However, the new law permits officially registered corporate entities to bypass licensed intermediaries and transfer crypto directly to and from self-custody wallets.
This exception allows Russian businesses to settle trade invoices with foreign suppliers using stablecoins such as USDT or Bitcoin directly from private wallets, bypassing the mainstream global banking system entirely.
