Russia Drafts Crypto Law Imposing Up to Seven Years Prison for Unregistered Services

## TL;DR **Russian legislators propose jail terms up to seven years for unregistered crypto services and illegal mining.**

## Context Russian lawmakers submitted a draft bill to the State Duma that would criminalize operating cryptocurrency services without registration with the Bank of Russia. The measure seeks to bring all crypto activity under state oversight by requiring licensing and imposing penalties for violations. It follows a recent hack of the Russia‑linked exchange Grinex, which prompted authorities to push for stricter controls.

## Key Facts Basic violations of the draft could lead to fines of up to $4,000 and prison sentences of up to four years. Large‑scale or organized offenses would attract harsher penalties: as much as seven years in prison, up to five years of compulsory labor, and fines reaching $13,100. The bill also introduces criminal liability for illegal cryptocurrency mining, treating it as a punishable act similar to unregistered trading.

## What It Means The proposal reflects Russia’s broader strategy to shift crypto activity from peer‑to‑peer networks to licensed intermediaries supervised by the central bank. If enacted, exchanges and wallet providers would need to secure Bank of Russia approval or face criminal risk. Market participants reacted cautiously: Bitcoin (BTC‑USD) traded at $27,300, up 1.2% in the last 24 hours, while Ethereum (ETH‑USD) sat at $1,800, down 0.4%; the global crypto market cap stood near $1.05 trillion, roughly flat versus the prior week. Analysts will watch the State Duma’s vote timeline and any subsequent adjustments to penalty levels, as well as how Russian crypto trading volumes shift toward regulated platforms or offshore alternatives.

What to watch next: the parliamentary schedule for the bill’s debate and potential amendments that could alter the severity of fines or prison terms.