The expert announced balanced regulation of the crypto market from 2026

The coming year 2026 can become a starting point for balanced regulation of the cryptocurrency market in Russia. The head of the Association of Forex Dealers (SRO AFD) told Izvestia about this on October 16 Evgeny Masharov.

According to his estimates, the amount of funds of Russian citizens and businesses in digital assets already exceeds 2.5 trillion rubles, and cryptocurrencies are increasingly used in foreign economic calculations, reducing dependence on the currencies of unfriendly countries.

As the expert noted, the Finopolis forum demonstrated the ideological recognition of cryptocurrencies by regulators and financial institutions. In recent years, a large-scale task has been implemented to legalize industrial mining, and an experimental legal regime has allowed the creation of an alternative payment channel for foreign trade activities.

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Analysts emphasize that there is still no substitute for gold.

"Participants in the over-the-counter foreign exchange market can make a significant contribution to the creation of a digital technological infrastructure for the cryptocurrency market. Most of today's speakers, traders and fans of cryptocurrencies are from the forex market," said Masharov.

According to him, this creates a natural basis for the integration of new tools. The expert emphasized that the member companies of the Forex Dealers Association are conceptually and technologically ready to work with cryptocurrency assets.

The optimal regulatory model for retail investors may be the placement of appropriate instruments on the Moscow Stock Exchange and at forex dealers. This approach will ensure the protection of investors' rights, a key priority of the Bank of Russia, which is fully shared by the ideology of the SRO. Financial intermediaries have the necessary experience to provide secure and high-quality access to digital assets, the expert concluded.

On October 8, Alexander Schneiderman, head of Alfa-Forex's customer support and Sales department, said that the rise in gold prices was due to political instability in the United States. He also added that expectations of further easing of US monetary policy are contributing to an increase in gold prices.

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