Russians will be banned from opening cryptocurrency accounts without a Tax ID (INN).

To open an account with a Russian digital depository, a client will be required to provide their Taxpayer Identification Number (INN), stated Vlada Gracheva, an advisor to the director of Rosfinmonitoring. She explained that this requirement is part of efforts to combat money laundering.

However, in standard banking practice, the INN is not necessarily required—it is optional in that context, the official clarified.

"For the anti-money laundering system, the client's INN is becoming a new mandatory—specifically mandatory—identifier. Previously, no one [i.e., no financial organization — Bits.Media note] had such a requirement. This is intended to ensure transparency in cryptocurrency transactions," Gracheva said.

The INN is a 12-digit number assigned to a Russian citizen once; it is valid throughout the Russian Federation and remains unchanged even if the taxpayer changes their place of residence, surname, or other passport details. Currently, the INN is primarily requested during formal employment for tax payment purposes. It is not required to open a bank account or brokerage account, or to obtain a loan. However, the Bank of Russia is developing a mechanism to link INNs to bank accounts, explaining that the measure is necessary for the operation of the "Antidrop" platform, which is scheduled to launch in 2027.

Rosfinmonitoring, the primary agency overseeing financial transactions, has been granted the authority to monitor all crypto transactions; the relevant government legislation was adopted alongside the law "On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights." The initiative mandates that Russian digital depositories and foreign financial organizations report data to Rosfinmonitoring regarding transactions involving crypto-assets made by Russian citizens if the transaction amount exceeds 60,000 rubles. Market participants will be required to transmit full details regarding the payer and the recipient—ranging from their full name or the name of the legal entity to their physical address.