The text of the bill (in Russian).
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Cryptocurrency bills in Russia tend to change beyond recognition during the adoption process. For example, the current version of the Law on Digital Financial Assets has changed radically by the second reading, although it regulated a much smaller amount of legal relations than the new bill. Sometimes a change in insignificant wording between the 2nd and 3rd reading can radically turn the approach to regulation, up to a complete ban on individual operations, so it is necessary to regularly update legal conclusions during the legislative process.

It is also critical to take into account that the bill, as usual, came out strongly blanket, that is, transferring further detail to the discretion of the Central Bank by adopting separate orders. Thus, at the moment only the main control contours are visible, which can later be significantly adjusted by the regulator (prohibition of certain operations, tokens, players, etc.).

The bill develops in several vectors:

1. Brings to the crypto industry an approach from the traditional financial sector: brokers, exchanges, trustees, regulated registers, regular reporting to the Central Bank, etc.
2. Introduces crypto exchangers.
3. Requires the majority of operations with cryptocurrencies to be carried out via special licensed digital depositories ("local custodians"), and it also obliges to notify foreign crypto wallets due to the risk of losing the right to judicial protection.
4. Also regulates digital activities, including minning, mining pools, foreign custodians, existing experimental legal regimes, unifies the approach to the DFA and utility tokens. At the same time, the bill does not provide for detailed rules for stablecoin issuers, however, the current wording makes it possible to issue a ruble stablecoin under a crypto exchanger license.

1. A regular broker with a valid license.

The broker "opens" an account with the client in a digital depository, and purchases coins through the current trade organizer (Moscow Exchange, St. Petersburg Exchange and others).

1.1. Russia refuses the usual licenses of crypto exchanges (CEX). At the same time, foreign crypto exchanges are hardly ready to undergo licensing in accordance with Federal Law of November 21, 2011 № 325-FZ "On Organized Trading," especially for the sake of cryptocurrency transactions. It is possible that large foreign exchanges will follow the path of establishing a subsidiary legal entity-exchanger.

1.2. A limited circle of tokens will be admitted to trading on the exchange at the beginning.
1.2.1. the market capitalization of a digital currency on average for 2 calendar years before the year of its inclusion in the list exceeds 5 trillion rubles;
1.2.2. The average daily trading volume in digital currency for 2 calendar years before the year of its inclusion in the list exceeds 1 trillion rubles;
1.2.3. 5 years of quotations on CEX for transactions made during a trading day, the average trading volume is at least 100 billion rubles, and such foreign trade organizer has a license (permission) to organize trading issued in accordance with his personal law.

1.3. As a transitional position, credit organizations and brokers wishing to enter the crypto market have the right to submit a notice of inclusion in the register of organizations engaged in the exchange of digital currency. After 10 working days from the date of sending the specified notification, the credit institution or broker has the right to carry out the type of activity provided for in Article 7 of the draft law, and is also subject to inclusion in the register of organizations that exchange digital currency.

2. At a licensed exchanger who has passed registration in the register of exchangers.

Transactions are still counted in the digital depository, but there is no direct restriction on the type of coins purchased. At the same time, if the organization exchanging digital currency performs transactions with digital currency not at organized trading, the fulfillment of obligations under such transactions can be carried out only on the terms of delivery against payment, unless otherwise is additionally established by a regulatory act of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

3. In a micro-exchanger or p2p-seller.

The law directly allows persons with turnover of less than 3.5 million rubles per month not to get into the register. The cleanliness of transactions in this lower segment will continue to be monitored by the compliance departments of banks, the tax service (as, for example, in the "Rostov case"), as well as law enforcement agencies under criminal "banking" articles and Art. 187 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for illegal circulation of payment funds.

4. On a foreign site with the need to report to the Russian tax authorities on the fact of possession of digital currency under pain of deprivation of judicial protection.

Despite the fact that recently the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation recognized this state of affairs as illegal, the legislator intends to return this restriction. The ban on the use of foreign sites is not yet provided.

4.1. Residents open, without restrictions, identifier addresses in information systems not organized in accordance with Russian law, not administered by digital depositories. However, for "non-depositary" wallets, a separate notification mechanism is provided for the Federal Tax Service of Russia, by analogy with foreign current accounts. It is possible that the appearance of currency-administrative fines accompanying in this case for failure to notify the tax office. A separate bill is responsible for this. https://sozd.duma.gov.ru/bill/1194929-8 (in Russian).

4.2. However, separate mechanisms are envisaged to control cross-border flow, including in relation to foreign payment service providers and payment processing providers. So a credit institution is obliged to refuse to carry out a money transfer operation in favor of foreign persons who are included in a separate list of persons in favor of whom money transfers are prohibited. A similar approach will be applied in the case of a cross-border transfer of funds using a payment card. The grounds and procedure for getting into such a list of "unreliable foreign recipients" will be determined in the future by the Government of the Russian Federation.

5. Within the framework of certain transactions with a special legal regime, for example, during a foreign economic activity, as a result of mining, on the basis of a court decision, etc.

1. The prohibition on accepting cryptocurrencies as payment within Russia remains in effect.

It is impossible to pay as before with cryptocurrencies/stablecoins for goods, works, services. The law additionally prohibits cryptocurrency from paying for securities, digital rights and other economic benefits. There remains a ban on public calls to pay for something with a crypto. You cannot advertise crypto to persons without the right to purchase. At the same time, the relaxation is made for miners and mining pools: they can receive their remuneration in cryptocurrency.

2. Issuance of loans (credits) in digital currency without licensed intermediaries is not allowed.

3. Residents have the right to make transactions (operations) with digital currency only with the participation of persons organizing the circulation of digital currency, except for cases directly prescribed by law.

4. Activities can be carried out outside licensed intermediaries:
4.1. Cryptominers and mining pools;
4.2. In accordance with the terms of foreign trade agreements or in order to fulfill obligations under them;
4.3. Without the participation of the subjects of the national payment system and without using Russian funds, electronic money, securities, other property in the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as digital currency and digital rights taken into account in the depository circuit as a counter-provision.

5. It will be possible to legally withdraw cryptocurrency from the depository only to a custodial wallet administered by a legal entity that, in accordance with its personal law, has the right to administer identifier addresses.

6. Digital depository can open uncastodial web3 wallets to residents.

The depository can provide services for providing access to identifier addresses in information systems not organized in accordance with Russian law to dispose of digital currency (digital rights) in these information systems, but a resident can dispose of such a crypto only with the consent of the digital depository, and the digital depository itself may refuse to credit dubious coins to the wallet of its client.

7. The Government of the Russian Federation will be able to make requirements for the mandatory repatriation of export digital revenue.

A separate bill № 1194929-8: https://sozd.duma.gov.ru/bill/1194929-8.