I’ve noticed that Russian legislation regarding cryptocurrencies continues to develop, but often in ways that leave more questions than clarity. Recently, I encountered changes to the law on advertising that directly affect the crypto space. I decided to understand what actually happened and why it’s causing so much controversy.

In 2024, amendments were made to Article 7 of the law «О рекламе». Items 13 and 14 were added, which introduced a ban on advertising cryptocurrencies and цифровая валюта (digital financial assets). Additionally, advertising goods, works, and services related to issuing and circulating цифровая валюта was prohibited. At first glance, it sounds strict, but it’s important to understand that advertising cryptocurrencies in Russia was already prohibited — it just wasn’t explicitly spelled out in the law. Now, judicial practice has finally been legislatively formalized.

Here’s an important point: not everything that appears to be advertising actually qualifies as advertising. According to the law, реклама (advertising) is information distributed by any means, aimed at an indefinite audience, and intended to promote something on the market. So, if you’re writing in a closed chat or sending information to a specific person, that’s not реклама. Educational content at conferences also doesn’t fall under this definition.

Another nuance: the ban specifically concerns цифровая валюта, not all криптовалюта (cryptocurrencies). In legal terms, цифровая валюта is electronic money or an investment актив (asset) that exists only in digital form, without ties to official currencies and without central management. This means popular stablecoins, привязанные к фиатным валютам (pegged to fiat currencies), technically do not fall under this definition. Honestly, this seems like an oversight by lawmakers.

As for цифровые финансовые активы (ЦФА), only those intended for a limited circle of приобретателей (purchasers) are subject to the ban on advertising. If ЦФА выпускается (is issued) without restrictions, it can be рекламировать (advertised). Утилитарные цифровые права, NFT и иностранные цифровые права also remain outside the scope of the запрет (ban). Essentially, the main impact is on криптобиржи (cryptocurrency exchanges) and обменники (swap services) — their услуги (services) for покупка и продажа криптовалюты (buying and selling cryptocurrencies) cannot be рекламировать (advertised) to an unlimited круг (circle) of лиц (persons).

Practically, the restrictions mainly affect криптобиржи, обменники, and платформы для трейдинга криптовалютами (platforms for trading cryptocurrencies). However, криптокошельки (crypto wallets), майнинговые компании (mining companies), разработчики блокчейн-решений (blockchain solutions developers), образовательные курсы (educational courses), аналитические сервисы (analytics services), and игры на блокчейне (blockchain-based games) remain relatively unaffected — though caution with wording is advised.

Regarding content, it is prohibited to make прямые призывы (direct calls) to покупка или продажа криптовалют (buying or selling cryptocurrencies), рекламировать услуги обмена (advertise exchange services), продвигать трейдинговые турниры (promote trading tournaments), and привлекать инвестиции через токены (attract investments via tokens). But educational content about криптовалютах (cryptocurrencies), обзоры крипторынка (market reviews), объяснения технологий блокчейна (blockchain technology explanations), and интервью с экспертами (interviews with experts) are permitted. The key is to использовать нейтральные формулировки (use neutral wording) instead of promotional phrasing and to избегать прямых призывов (avoid direct calls to action).

To avoid violating the law, it’s necessary to избегать прямых призывов (avoid direct calls) to операции с криптовалютами (operations with cryptocurrencies), использовать нейтральный язык (use neutral language), сосредоточиться на образовательном контенте (focus on educational content), and не упоминать конкретные криптобиржи (not mention specific exchanges). Штрафы (fines) are substantial — до 500 000 рублей (up to 500,000 rubles) for рекламодателей (advertisers) and the same for площадки (platforms), plus блокировка аккаунтов и сайтов (blocking of accounts and websites).

In summary, this creates an interesting серый (gray) сектор (area). Некоторые проекты (some projects) остаются в серой зоне (remain in a gray zone). Например, игры-тапалки (games-тапалки) technically do not fall under strict restrictions, but it’s important not to рекламировать (advertise) привлекательность токена (the attractiveness of the token), а делать упор на саму игру и технологию (but focus on the game and technology). Мемкоины (meme coins) and прочие токены (other tokens) также могут остаться вне запрета (also may remain outside the ban), если правильно сформулировать объявление (if the announcement is carefully worded). Даже частные объявления (even private ads) на P2P платформах (on P2P platforms) с предложением купить и продать токены (offering to buy and sell tokens) могут не подпадать под действие закона (may not be covered by the law), хотя сама платформа (although the platform itself), на которой идет такой трейдинг (where such trading occurs), уже под ограничением (is already under restrictions) и не может рекламировать свои услуги (and cannot advertise its services). В целом, рекламу криптовалюты в России (overall, cryptocurrency advertising in Russia) можно вести, но нужно быть очень внимательным к деталям и формулировкам (but one must be very careful with details and wording).