The Russian Central Bank has incorporated 2600 encrypted wallet addresses related to suspected illegal financial activities into the risk monitoring system used by banks and law enforcement agencies. According to the Agency, approximately 1 billion rubles of the equivalent encrypted assets went to these addresses in the first half of 2026.

The system is used primarily for customer risk assessment, compliance review and financial investigations. According to the Central Bank of Russia, the marked wallets involved a variety of subjects such as companies, projects, and self-employed persons, all of which were found to have signs of illicit financial market activity.

2891 suspects identified in the first half of the year.

The Central Bank of Russia disclosed that in the first half of 2026, it was agreed that 2891 subjects with indications of illegal financial activity had dropped by nearly 31 per cent compared to the same period in 2025, but close to the level in the second half of last year.

During the same period, banks imposed restrictions on more than 500 payments for illegal financial activities. On the basis of material transferred from the Central Bank, the Supervisory Authority has initiated more than 330 administrative cases and taken more than 450 other enforcement measures, while restricting access to more than 11,800 relevant websites and web resources.

Encrypted assets remain a common collection tool

More than 74 per cent of the identified portfolio projects attracted funds in encrypted currency, while the rest relied mainly on offshore payments for services or cash. Project organizers used more than 940 websites, 120 Telegram channels and more than 2,500 social media page streams in the first six months of the year.

The Central Bank of Russia has also indicated that many of the pseudo-investment projects discovered this year are based on the sale of encrypted assets, or claim to have generated gains through encrypted mining. Some projects promote investment in data centres to provide calculators; others include digital tokens with project issue numbers called anchor price.

In the first half of the year, 929 subjects were identified as having financial characteristics, and 379 others were suspected of illegally absorbing investment. The combined decrease was 44 per cent compared with the same period in 2025. However, there was a marked increase in illegal lending, with the number of related subjects rising from 467 during the same period of the previous year to 999.

Russia advanced the licensed encryption market

In parallel with the intensification of the strike, Russia is also promoting a regulated framework for encrypted markets. A law adopted this summer has established rules for intermediaries, such as exchanges, brokers and trustees, and is regulated by the Russian Central Bank.

The framework allows for the continuation of partially regulated encryption operations and specific cross-border uses, but still maintains the restriction that encrypted money should not be used as a domestic payment tool. In line with the regulated market launched in September, the Russian Central Bank had previously issued draft rules for the operation of exchanges and digital asset trusts, including capital requirements and registration arrangements for licensed institutions.

The fake show ticket website claims to be paid for in encryption.

In addition to the regulatory circular, Cybersecurity F6 also revealed that at least 10 fake Kanye West shows have recently been swindled to Russian users. These sites have been registered since August 17th, with domain names covering.ru,.com,.site and.shop.

Part of the page presents the optional seats and then asks the user to pay in encrypted currency. F6 states that the fares range from $60 to $2,100; other pages require a transfer to a mobile phone number, indicating that the fares range from 28 to 6.2 million roubles.

F6 also found at least seven Telegram robots associated with the ticket fraud. At the time of the inspection, only one was still running. The company cautioned that when the platform receives only encrypted money or mobile phone number transfers and there is no other means of payment, this is usually a high-risk signal, as such funds are more difficult to recover when transferred out.