No, Russia did not just lift its ban on domestic crypto use

A fake news story circulated today about Russia’s supposed embrace of bitcoin mining and crypto payments. According to excited social media posts, after the lower house of Russia’s legislature passed a bill, Russia “embraces crypto,” “formally legalizes cryptocurrencies,” “has approved a bill on cryptocurrency mining,” and will “legalize bitcoin and crypto as a foreign currency.”

The news was barely — if at all — true. But this time, the fake news wasn’t Russia’s fault.

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The doctored media were not a purposeful, Kremlin misinformation campaign. Instead, the public simply doesn’t understand Russian law or the Kremlin’s long history of making ceremonial or vacuous announcements regarding crypto use.

What actually happened with Russian crypto law today

In reality, Russia’s lower house, or ‘State Duma,’ passed a bill today that allows certain Russian businesses to use crypto assets — not for domestic payments, but for international trade. That’s the singular, newsworthy occurrence — the passage of a not-yet-enacted bill from one house of Russia’s legislature that has already been known since November 2022.

The remainder of the posts to social media about that event overstated this event’s importance.

In truth, no law will go into effect today. At the earliest, according to a Reuters fact check, that will happen in September. Moreover, the first transactions affected by this new law will occur “sometime before the end of the year.”

Second, the law has no impact on domestic crypto use. The bill exclusively relates to cross-border payments and non-trading, non-payment-related mining operations.

Third, and even more underwhelmingly, the bill requires Russia’s central bank to create new infrastructure for these crypto payments. This infrastructure, according to Reuters, is undeveloped and has no set schedule for public release.

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