Catenaa, Friday, May 23, 2025-Russia financial watchdog has warned citizens that cryptocurrency exchanges and brokers operating in the country are cooperating with police and supplying user data upon request, despite the lack of formal regulation.
Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum, Olga Tisen, head of the legal department at Rosfinmonitoring, said exchanges “disclose all data on the owners of crypto wallets” when asked by law enforcement. She said the popular belief that cryptocurrency transfers are anonymous is a “myth.”
Tisen explained that although Russian law does not yet regulate crypto platforms, firms are voluntarily cooperating with authorities in anticipation of future oversight.
She said the disclosures occur without court orders because crypto transactions are not protected by banking secrecy laws.
Rosfinmonitoring said it also receives information from banks about crypto-related account activity. The agency plans to grant commercial banks access to its blockchain analytics tool, Transparent Blockchain, before the end of 2025.
The software is already in use by the Central Bank and more than 12,000 law enforcement officials and regulators across Russia and former Soviet states.
The watchdog reiterated its call to criminalize illegal crypto mining, stating it has backing from the Central Bank and several ministries.
