Russian Central Bank Plans "Large-Scale Audit" of Crypto Holdings in Early 2026

The Russian Central Bank has announced it will conduct a "large-scale audit" of the nation's cryptocurrency holdings and transactions in early 2026. This comprehensive review, reported by the newspaper Izvestia, aims to assess the volume of crypto investments and lending activities among companies and individuals.

Purpose of the Crypto Survey

The Central Bank plans to conduct the survey over the first two months of 2026, targeting:

• Crypto Companies: Reviewing investment and lending volumes.
• Regulated Entities: Assessing the volume of crypto investments, including those used for risk hedging.
• Individual Investments: Scrutinizing digital financial products whose returns are tied to cryptoasset prices, such as crypto derivatives, many of which recently launched on the Moscow Exchange.

Officials stated the goal is to gain data to "assess the volume of investments" and gauge the impact of crypto on both global markets and the Russian economy. The bank has also already ordered the Moscow Exchange and commercial banks offering crypto derivatives to submit monthly transaction reports.

Regulatory Tug-of-War

The Central Bank's move highlights its increasing attention to the sector, despite a long-running policy disagreement with the Ministry of Finance.

• Ministry of Finance: Favors regulating and taxing the crypto industry to "take it out of the grey zone."
• Central Bank: Has generally preferred solutions that restrict crypto to the periphery of the economy.

However, legal experts suggest the audit data will likely be used by both the bank and the government to "form regulatory policy" and potentially "legalize the market to generate tax revenue."

Current Legal Landscape and Monitoring Efforts

Currently, Russian law provides a legal framework only for officially registered crypto miners and participants in the bank's "sandbox project." This sandbox, begrudgingly approved by the bank in response to Western sanctions, allows Russian firms to use crypto for cross-border trade payments.

Experts note that while the global crypto market only accounts for about 2% of all financial assets, posing no "serious threats to the Russian economy yet," the situation "requires constant monitoring." Despite the Central Bank's caution, the crypto sector has powerful advocates in Moscow, who continue to push for fast-tracking crypto exchange regulation and even considering a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

October 2025, Cryptoniteuae