Russia's cryptocurrency market has reached an estimated 50 billion rubles - roughly $648 million - in daily transaction volume, according to the country's finance ministry.
The figure, disclosed by Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov at an Alfa-Bank conference, puts Russia's annual cryptocurrency turnover above $130 billion.
Nearly all of it is occurring outside any regulated framework.
"We've always said that millions of citizens are involved in this activity, representing trillions of rubles," Chebeskov said, according to the state news agency TASS. "All of that is currently occurring in unregulated spaces."
An estimated 20 million Russians now use cryptocurrency in some capacity, Chebeskov noted previously.
What Happened
Chebeskov said a draft law to regulate cryptocurrency transactions could be filed with the State Duma as early as March.
The finance ministry and the Central Bank of Russia both want the legislation adopted during the Duma's spring session, with a July 1 deadline for passage.
First Deputy Governor Vladimir Chistyukhin said at the same conference that regulators would provide a transition period for market participants to obtain licenses and prepare internal compliance documents.
The law will focus primarily on exchanges and impose penalties on trading platforms that fail to secure operating permits.
Under the proposed framework, banks and brokers would be allowed to offer cryptocurrency services under existing licenses, while standalone cryptocurrency platforms would need separate authorization.
