Russian Central Bank Deputy Governor Vladimir Chistyukhin stated that the country's crypto industry may have all necessary regulations to begin legally functioning by year-end. He noted that the "fine-tuning" of internal rules could be completed before the end of 2026. Earlier in August, President Vladimir Putin signed a law to regulate digital currencies, though using crypto for payments remains prohibited. The central bank has approved Bitcoin trading for the public on domestic exchanges, with unqualified investors limited to 300,000 rubles ($3,582) in purchases. Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, plans to launch a Bitcoin and crypto wallet and digital asset custody by December, projecting 4 trillion rubles ($47 billion) in trading volume during the first year.