Russia -- Securities Classification Regulatory Overview

Russia classifies cryptocurrency tokens primarily under Federal Law No. 259-FZ of July 31, 2020 ("On Digital Financial Assets, Digital Currency, and Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation" or DFA Law), effective January 10, 2021, which regulates digital financial assets (DFAs) as a distinct category separate from securities. [3][2]

Legal Test for Classification

Russia lacks a direct equivalent to the U.S. Howey test; instead, DFAs are defined by law as digital rights (including property rights, exclusive intellectual property rights, or other rights) expressed as digital tokens using cryptographic methods on a blockchain or similar system. [3][2]

• Tokens performing functions akin to cash or securities may qualify as digital rights, but DFAs are treated as an independent property right under the Civil Code, not as securities. [2]
• Utility tokens can link to issuer services or external assets (e.g., things, IP, services), creating hybrid types. [2]
• Digital currency (e.g., Bitcoin) is not classified as a payment-type digital right and remains a "monetary surrogate" (prohibited for issuance under Central Bank Law). [2][4]
• Excluded: Collateralized stablecoins and NFTs. [3]

Tokens Considered Securities

Only digital financial assets (DFAs) are analogous to security tokens in Russia, but they are not formally securities. [2][3] Tokenization of real assets, shares, and property is advancing via a 2026 regulatory framework, with pilots for ownership rights and expansion to securities/shares. [1]

Registration/Exemption Requirements for Issuers

• Issuance of DFAs must occur via approved information systems (operators coordinated with the Central Bank of Russia - CBR). [3]
• Issuers must publish a prospectus before offering DFAs to investors (no explicit exemption details in sources). [3]
• Rules are set by system operators/exchanges, approved by CBR (Article 7, DFA Law). [3]
• Current access limited to "highly qualified" investors under experimental regime; expansion planned for qualified investors (excluding privacy coins) and ordinary citizens (liquid cryptos up to ~$4,000/year). [1]

Secondary Trading Rules

Trading DFAs is restricted to licensed digital financial asset exchanges (operators approved by CBR). [1][3]
Domestic crypto payments remain banned, but mining is legal, and crypto use in international trade is permitted (post-2024 updates). [4]

Enforcement Examples

Search results provide no specific enforcement cases; warnings from CBR and Rosfinmonitoring (2017) highlight crypto risks and lack of guarantees. [4] General evolution includes 2022 policy shift from ban proposal to legalization. [4]

Key Legislation and Guidance

• Federal Law No. 259-FZ (DFA Law): Core framework for DFAs, issuance, and circulation. [3]
  No direct URLs to official texts in results; refer to sources [1]-[4] for context (e.g., multilaw.com for DFA Law summary [3]). Regulatory updates via CBR guidelines. [3]