In Russia, there are plans to restrict foreign cryptocurrency exchanges, according to an analyst from Bestchange., 2026/02/17 15:50:15

Senior analyst Nikita Zuborev from the exchange aggregator Bestchange believes that foreign crypto exchanges will be blocked in Russia by summer. In a conversation with RBC, he noted that this timeline aligns with the government’s commitment to implement new cryptocurrency market regulations by July 1.

Currently, a preparatory phase is underway, with lawmakers and technical experts working on regulatory mechanisms, Zuborev suggested. Until this process is completed, using foreign crypto exchanges will remain “relatively safe,” but the launch of Russian platforms could significantly intensify competition. 

The blocking of major unregistered crypto exchange websites by Roskomnadzor is likely to follow a model similar to YouTube — DNS records will be removed in the state-controlled segment of the internet, with subsequent measures taken to counteract methods of bypassing restrictions, the expert speculated.  

However, Zuborev indicated that the blocking of foreign crypto services is unlikely to result in a “whitening of the market.” On the contrary, such restrictions could trigger a series of negative outcomes: an increase in fraudulent schemes, higher transaction fees, and a significant portion of operations moving to the shadow sector. From his perspective, blocking websites is not a particularly effective regulatory tool. Nevertheless, regardless of the strategy chosen by officials, the market will quickly adapt to the new conditions. 

The Ministry of Finance estimates the daily turnover of digital currencies in Russia at 50 billion rubles. Sergey Shvetsov, chairman of the supervisory board of the Moscow Exchange, claims that Russians annually transfer around $15 billion to global crypto exchanges in the form of fees.