TON’s legal status in Russia in 2026 is neither “banned” nor “everything goes” — it is a thin layer between recognition as property and a ban on payment use. This piece is a map of what is currently allowed and what is not, and where regulation is heading in the second half of 2026. Without legal advice — only the rules, sources and commentary based on our practice. Written for an international observer following Russian crypto policy.
In brief
- Holding TON is legal. 259-FZ recognises digital currency as property. Storing it in Tonkeeper, MyTonWallet or any other non-custodial wallet is not a violation.
- Paying in TON in Russia is not allowed. A direct ban in the law. A Russian resident cannot pay in Toncoin for goods and services in Russia.
- Income must be declared. Since 2025, 418-FZ introduced direct rules for taxing operations with digital currency.
- From 1 July 2026 — a Bank of Russia operator register. Per the draft law, the exchange and purchase of crypto-assets will run through licensed Russian companies. Foreign exchanges and P2P will formally fall outside the legal framework, although how this is actually enforced is a separate matter.
- Mining is legal with a business registration. TON is PoS, so there is no classic mining for an end user — but validation and staking fall under the broader digital-asset framework.
What 259-FZ says
Federal Law 259-FZ “On Digital Financial Assets and Digital Currency…” has been in force since 1 January 2021. Key points for a TON user:
- Digital currency is property but not a means of payment within the Russian Federation (Article 14, paragraph 5). Accepting TON in payment for goods, work or services is prohibited. Transferring TON to another user in exchange for a service formally falls under this ban as well.
- Advertising acceptance of digital currency as a payment method is prohibited. That hits any Russian-language store running an “we accept TON” pitch.
- Exchange and operations are permitted, but the law in 2021 did not describe regulation of exchange operators — hence the long-running grey zone that is only now being closed via amendments.
In 2024, 259-FZ was amended to allow crypto exchange under an experimental legal regime for foreign-trade purposes. For most retail TON users that doesn’t apply directly.
iIn plain language
Allowed: buy TON, hold it in a wallet, send it to a friend, sell it. Not allowed: pay with TON in a Russian shop, advertise “TON acceptance” in Russia, receive TON as salary from a Russian employer.
221-FZ and mining
Federal Law 221-FZ of 8 August 2024 legalised mining as a type of activity. Most provisions came into force on 1 November 2024.
For TON this matters with a caveat: TON is a Proof-of-Stake network, with no classic miners (no ASICs, no electricity-heavy operations). There are validators — nodes that lock a large stake (around 300,000 TON or more) in exchange for the right to validate blocks — and nominators, users who delegate their TON through pools.
221-FZ does not apply to staking directly. From our reading, tax practice treats “staking income as other personal income”, taxed at general PIT rates. Running your own validator as a sole proprietor under the simplified tax regime makes it a business, with corporate or simplified taxation depending on the form chosen.
For more on staking as a use case, see the TON basics guide.
418-FZ: taxation of TON operations
Federal Law 418-FZ of 29 November 2024 is the main fiscal document for retail TON users. Since 1 January 2025, digital currency is explicitly recognised as property for tax purposes, and income from its sale and exchange is subject to personal income tax (PIT).
Core logic:
- Income = sale proceeds minus acquisition cost.
- PIT rates for individuals in 2025-2026 — 13% on income up to 2.4M RUB per year and 15% from 2.4M to 5M RUB; for mining, an extended progressive scale up to 22% applies.
- Valuation reference is taken from an exchange with turnover above 100B RUB — which is a constraint, since there is no direct “Russian TON rate”; in practice a weighted average from major global exchanges is used.
What changes from 1 July 2026
According to RBC and TASS reporting, the Russian government submitted a draft law on the regulation of crypto-asset turnover, expected to take effect on 1 July 2026. As of May 2026 the document is still being debated and the final wording may differ. Indicative parameters:
- Bank of Russia register. Buying, selling and exchanging digital currency in Russia will only be permitted through licensed operators on the Bank of Russia’s register.
- Russian legal entities only. Exchange operators must be LLCs or JSCs registered in Russia; minimum charter capital is around 35M RUB.
- KYC and AML. Mandatory client identification, participation in the AML/CFT framework, reporting to Rosfinmonitoring.
- Foreign exchanges and P2P platforms will formally fall outside the legal framework for Russian users. What that means in practice is mixed — potentially heightened risk under Russia’s 115-FZ AML statute when interacting with such services through Russian banks.
!It is still a draft
As of May 2026 the document has not been adopted in final form. Timing and parameters may change. Lean on specific norms only after the law is published.
Real risks — what we see in practice
In our experience most problems come not from “violating 259-FZ” but from adjacent risks:
- 115-FZ and bank cards. This is the most common cause of account freezes — the bank sees suspicious P2P activity and pauses operations.
- Tax exposure. If the Federal Tax Service spots large account flows and suspects undeclared income, that triggers Article 119 of the Tax Code (failure to file) and Article 122 (non-payment of tax).
- Criminal exposure. Arises in laundering cases, in the financing of prohibited activity, or when operating as an unlicensed exchange — Articles 174 and 172 of the Criminal Code. Retail users are not directly exposed, but “helping a friend swap” at scale escalates fast.
- Sanctions exposure. For users with a Russian profile, the central threat is account blocks on centralised exchanges due to citizenship / IP / transaction history. Self-custody (Tonkeeper, MyTonWallet) cannot be blocked at the network level. More in the sanctions piece.
How to behave: a practical minimum
From observation, a sensible posture for a retail TON user with Russian exposure in 2026:
- Hold TON in a self-custody wallet. Tonkeeper or MyTonWallet with a written-down seed phrase is the optimal scheme. Not a violation, and it removes custodial risk.
- Declare income on rouble sales. Even if the tax service “isn’t asking yet” — it minimises later penalty risk.
- Don’t use the same card for salary, daily payments and crypto P2P. A separate card at a separate bank reduces the chance of your main account being frozen.
- Don’t accept TON for services in Russia. The 259-FZ ban cuts both ways — for businesses and for self-employed freelancers.
- Watch the Bank of Russia register law. Once the document is published, your buy/sell process may need adjustment.
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Sources and statutory base
- 259-FZ “On Digital Financial Assets and Digital Currency…” — primary law.
- 221-FZ of 08.08.2024 “On Mining of Digital Currency” — legalisation of mining.
- 418-FZ of 29.11.2024 — Tax Code amendments on operations with digital currency.
- Federal Tax Service letter of 25.12.2024 No. SD-4-3/14625@ — procedure for filing the digital-currency tax return.
- RBC-Crypto, TASS and Kommersant reporting on the Bank of Russia register draft law (as of May 2026).
All wording in this piece reflects our understanding of public sources as of 9 May 2026; for case-specific legal analysis, consult a practising tax adviser or crypto-law attorney.
