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Russia’s Crypto Trading Volumes Reach $650 Million Daily Amid Regulatory Push

Russia’s Ministry of Finance estimates over $130 billion in annual crypto turnover, prompting government and central bank efforts to introduce comprehensive regulations this spring.

BTC
SOL
XRP

Fact Check
The statement claims Russia's daily cryptocurrency trading volume is approximately $650 million. The provided sources include official government sanctions documentation, API access to CoinMarketCap data, and contextual commentary on Russia’s crypto-related sanctions. While CoinMarketCap's API could provide authoritative, primary market volume data if filtered by location, none of the provided materials actually present the calculated figure for Russia. The UK Financial Sanctions FAQs and CoinMarketCap API documentation are credible and highly relevant to obtaining such data, but in the absence of actual extracted and location-specific figures, the claim cannot be directly verified from these sources. Other contextual sources discuss regulatory measures and sanctions, which may indirectly suggest significant trading volumes, but they do not quantify them. Therefore, the claim is plausible given Russia's economic activity and known crypto adoption patterns, yet without concrete, location-filtered volume metrics from a primary data provider, the evidence remains insufficient for high-confidence verification.
Summary

Russia’s Ministry of Finance estimates the nation’s cryptocurrency turnover at 50 billion rubles ($650 million) daily and 10 trillion rubles ($130.5 billion) annually, with most activity occurring outside regulated channels. Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov highlighted these figures at the Alfa Talk conference, noting the scale of unregulated crypto use. The government and Bank of Russia aim to pass a regulatory framework during the State Duma’s spring session, allowing licensed exchanges and brokers to offer spot trading, imposing licensing on crypto exchange offices, and introducing penalties for unlicensed intermediaries. Moscow Exchange, which already offers cash-settled bitcoin and ether futures, plans to add SOL, XRP, and TRX contracts, and may enter the spot market. The Bank of Russia estimates Russian users held $11.89 billion on foreign crypto exchanges in mid-2025, with $15 billion paid annually in commissions to these platforms. Russia is the largest crypto market in Europe, receiving $376.3 billion in crypto between July 2024 and June 2025, far surpassing other nations.

Terms & Concepts
  • Spot Trading: The purchase or sale of a financial instrument for immediate delivery and settlement.
  • Futures Contracts: Agreements to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined price at a specified date in the future, often used for hedging or speculation.
  • Licensed Exchanges: Cryptocurrency trading platforms authorized by regulatory authorities to operate within a legal framework.