The year 2025 began for the Russian crypto market with significant shifts in market structure and administrative practices. Regulators continued their restrictive policies, increasing pressure on exchange services, "gray" digital asset mining, and crypto exchanges.
At the same time, new measures are being discussed and implemented—from the launch of crypto derivatives by Russian exchanges, brokers, and banks to the creation of a regulated crypto exchange for highly qualified investors.
Businesses are adapting to restrictions: institutional clients are increasingly turning to digital asset mining, which frees up capacity and reduces capital expenditures. Meanwhile, targeted bans and administrative controls continue to be introduced at the regional level, increasing pressure on both residential and industrial digital asset miners.
Experts spoke to RBC-Crypto about the key trends shaping the Russian crypto market in the first half of 2025.
Regulation and circulation of cryptocurrencies
In the first half of 2025, Russians' cryptocurrency holdings increased by approximately a third. Meanwhile, the volume of web traffic from Russia to exchange sites and cryptocurrency exchanges remained flat, and the structure of interest remained largely unchanged. The exception was a slight surge in demand for memecoins and real-world asset-backed tokens (RWAs), says Nikita Zuborev, senior analyst at Bestchange.ru, citing data from the Bank of Russia's quarterly financial stability report.
The regulator, he observes, has stepped up its crackdown on resources that in any way mention the purchase or sale of cryptocurrency for rubles. "Not only exchangers, but also forums, aggregators, and any resources containing such language are now subject to extrajudicial blocking," the expert notes. These actions, he observes, have fueled the growth of crypto services within Telegram, including mini apps and bots for p2p trading.
According to Taisiya Romanova, a crypto expert and the author of the GFiS Channel Telegram channel, work on the legislative framework is ongoing, but proceeding at an extremely conservative pace. Amendments introducing fines for regulatory violations are being drafted, but proposals to ease the conditions for legal businesses are still lacking. This, she notes, is causing concern among both professional participants and private users.
The regulator's crackdown on "drops" is particularly acute—many citizens have encountered difficulties with routine exchange transactions, even through specialized platforms, Romanova notes. "These actions, in the absence of legal alternatives, don't sanitize the market but rather plunge it into chaos," Romanova notes. She believes this situation naturally leads to an increase in gray-market schemes.
Zuborev particularly notes the growing interest in offline exchange: "While cash transactions were previously rare and conducted in isolated offices outside the capital, now physical locations are opening across the country." The new format, he says, is displacing the previous model of courier delivery.
New tools
Among the positive steps in regulation, Zuborev highlights the authorization of the use of cryptocurrency in cross-border payments under the regulatory sandbox. Despite its limited scope, he views this as a move toward more adequate regulation.
Zuborev also cites the closure of the Russian-origin crypto exchange Garantex as one of the key events. Simultaneously, the Bank of Russia and the Ministry of Finance announced plans to launch their own regulated crypto exchange for highly qualified investors with assets of 100 million rubles or an annual income of 50 million rubles.
Among the significant events, Zuborev highlights the launch of a public Bitcoin index and futures trading for BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust on the Moscow Exchange. He says this is a positive sign amid increased pressure from regulators.
Against this backdrop of restrictions, the launch of synthetic cryptocurrency-based products appears to be a constructive step, Romanova agrees. Such instruments, offered by brokers to qualified investors, comply with current regulations and allow indirect access to digital assets without transferring them to external wallets.
According to the expert, this is a logical compromise given the Bank of Russia's current position, and one can hope that "the debugging process will proceed more rationally, drawing on the experience of other countries."
Transformation of the digital asset mining market
The Russian digital asset mining market is undergoing a major restructuring, driven by both domestic economic factors and increasing government pressure. According to Vasily Giri, CEO of GIS Mining, the industry is undergoing a period of purges of unscrupulous players. A significant portion of data centers continue to operate on older generation equipment, which is either unprofitable or teetering on the brink of failure. This equipment was often imported through illegal schemes three to four years ago, and today, such operators are increasingly exiting the market.
An additional factor was the strengthening of the ruble: since the beginning of the year, it has risen by almost 30% against the dollar, while many digital asset miners had been targeting a 100 ruble exchange rate. Combined with rising electricity prices, this has sharply worsened the economics of operating in the gray zone. "Many operators have decided to cease operations rather than operate at a loss," notes Girya.
As a result, large capacities—ranging from several dozen to 300 MW, according to the company's estimates—have begun to be released in regions with energy surpluses, including Siberia. At the same time, he notes, interest from institutional players has grown: capital costs for startups have decreased, corporate governance is being strengthened, and the number of corporate clients, including representatives of the fuel and energy sector and the financial sector, has tripled.
"While at the beginning of last year, investments per MW of capacity reached 25 million rubles due to infrastructure shortages, today the required figure is around 15 million," explains Girya. He notes that these conditions are opening the market to new projects from large corporations.
The decline in the gray market is also confirmed by Oleg Ogienko, an independent blockchain and energy expert. According to him, after the introduction of regional bans in the southern Irkutsk region, Buryatia, and Zabaikalsk, digital asset mining-related energy consumption fell by approximately 320 MW. This has already been reflected in the Ministry of Energy's plans: the expected commissioning of new generation capacity in Siberia by 2030 has been reduced from the previously discussed 1.2–1.3 GW to 700 MW.
According to the expert, the bans aren't fully effective due to the lack of direct liability for violating them. Furthermore, a number of regions are introducing their own measures. For example, in the Irkutsk region, a governor's order defining an algorithm for identifying illegal mining activity has been in effect since late May. The document is addressed to energy companies and applies to both industrial and residential digital asset miners.
"All digital asset mining in the southern Irkutsk region is illegal and subject to shutdown," Ogienko emphasizes. He adds that despite the extensive restrictions, the bans are ineffective due to the lack of direct accountability for violating them.
Following the outages in the south, some of the load shifted to the north of the Irkutsk region, where excess capacity still remains. However, according to Ogienko, competition has intensified here—connection applications undergo a rigorous selection process by power grid companies and the Russian Power System Operator.
At the same time, new measures are being discussed and implemented—from the launch of crypto derivatives by Russian exchanges, brokers, and banks to the creation of a regulated crypto exchange for highly qualified investors.
Businesses are adapting to restrictions: institutional clients are increasingly turning to digital asset mining, which frees up capacity and reduces capital expenditures. Meanwhile, targeted bans and administrative controls continue to be introduced at the regional level, increasing pressure on both residential and industrial digital asset miners.
Experts spoke to RBC-Crypto about the key trends shaping the Russian crypto market in the first half of 2025.
Regulation and circulation of cryptocurrencies
In the first half of 2025, Russians' cryptocurrency holdings increased by approximately a third. Meanwhile, the volume of web traffic from Russia to exchange sites and cryptocurrency exchanges remained flat, and the structure of interest remained largely unchanged. The exception was a slight surge in demand for memecoins and real-world asset-backed tokens (RWAs), says Nikita Zuborev, senior analyst at Bestchange.ru, citing data from the Bank of Russia's quarterly financial stability report.
The regulator, he observes, has stepped up its crackdown on resources that in any way mention the purchase or sale of cryptocurrency for rubles. "Not only exchangers, but also forums, aggregators, and any resources containing such language are now subject to extrajudicial blocking," the expert notes. These actions, he observes, have fueled the growth of crypto services within Telegram, including mini apps and bots for p2p trading.
According to Taisiya Romanova, a crypto expert and the author of the GFiS Channel Telegram channel, work on the legislative framework is ongoing, but proceeding at an extremely conservative pace. Amendments introducing fines for regulatory violations are being drafted, but proposals to ease the conditions for legal businesses are still lacking. This, she notes, is causing concern among both professional participants and private users.
The regulator's crackdown on "drops" is particularly acute—many citizens have encountered difficulties with routine exchange transactions, even through specialized platforms, Romanova notes. "These actions, in the absence of legal alternatives, don't sanitize the market but rather plunge it into chaos," Romanova notes. She believes this situation naturally leads to an increase in gray-market schemes.
Zuborev particularly notes the growing interest in offline exchange: "While cash transactions were previously rare and conducted in isolated offices outside the capital, now physical locations are opening across the country." The new format, he says, is displacing the previous model of courier delivery.
New tools
Among the positive steps in regulation, Zuborev highlights the authorization of the use of cryptocurrency in cross-border payments under the regulatory sandbox. Despite its limited scope, he views this as a move toward more adequate regulation.
Zuborev also cites the closure of the Russian-origin crypto exchange Garantex as one of the key events. Simultaneously, the Bank of Russia and the Ministry of Finance announced plans to launch their own regulated crypto exchange for highly qualified investors with assets of 100 million rubles or an annual income of 50 million rubles.
Among the significant events, Zuborev highlights the launch of a public Bitcoin index and futures trading for BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust on the Moscow Exchange. He says this is a positive sign amid increased pressure from regulators.
Against this backdrop of restrictions, the launch of synthetic cryptocurrency-based products appears to be a constructive step, Romanova agrees. Such instruments, offered by brokers to qualified investors, comply with current regulations and allow indirect access to digital assets without transferring them to external wallets.
According to the expert, this is a logical compromise given the Bank of Russia's current position, and one can hope that "the debugging process will proceed more rationally, drawing on the experience of other countries."
Transformation of the digital asset mining market
The Russian digital asset mining market is undergoing a major restructuring, driven by both domestic economic factors and increasing government pressure. According to Vasily Giri, CEO of GIS Mining, the industry is undergoing a period of purges of unscrupulous players. A significant portion of data centers continue to operate on older generation equipment, which is either unprofitable or teetering on the brink of failure. This equipment was often imported through illegal schemes three to four years ago, and today, such operators are increasingly exiting the market.
An additional factor was the strengthening of the ruble: since the beginning of the year, it has risen by almost 30% against the dollar, while many digital asset miners had been targeting a 100 ruble exchange rate. Combined with rising electricity prices, this has sharply worsened the economics of operating in the gray zone. "Many operators have decided to cease operations rather than operate at a loss," notes Girya.
As a result, large capacities—ranging from several dozen to 300 MW, according to the company's estimates—have begun to be released in regions with energy surpluses, including Siberia. At the same time, he notes, interest from institutional players has grown: capital costs for startups have decreased, corporate governance is being strengthened, and the number of corporate clients, including representatives of the fuel and energy sector and the financial sector, has tripled.
"While at the beginning of last year, investments per MW of capacity reached 25 million rubles due to infrastructure shortages, today the required figure is around 15 million," explains Girya. He notes that these conditions are opening the market to new projects from large corporations.
The decline in the gray market is also confirmed by Oleg Ogienko, an independent blockchain and energy expert. According to him, after the introduction of regional bans in the southern Irkutsk region, Buryatia, and Zabaikalsk, digital asset mining-related energy consumption fell by approximately 320 MW. This has already been reflected in the Ministry of Energy's plans: the expected commissioning of new generation capacity in Siberia by 2030 has been reduced from the previously discussed 1.2–1.3 GW to 700 MW.
According to the expert, the bans aren't fully effective due to the lack of direct liability for violating them. Furthermore, a number of regions are introducing their own measures. For example, in the Irkutsk region, a governor's order defining an algorithm for identifying illegal mining activity has been in effect since late May. The document is addressed to energy companies and applies to both industrial and residential digital asset miners.
"All digital asset mining in the southern Irkutsk region is illegal and subject to shutdown," Ogienko emphasizes. He adds that despite the extensive restrictions, the bans are ineffective due to the lack of direct accountability for violating them.
Following the outages in the south, some of the load shifted to the north of the Irkutsk region, where excess capacity still remains. However, according to Ogienko, competition has intensified here—connection applications undergo a rigorous selection process by power grid companies and the Russian Power System Operator.
Link for the original article: RBC