Russia Bars Self-Custody Withdrawals From Regulated Crypto Accounts

The measure effectively closes the on-ramp between regulated venues and personal wallets, leaving state-authorized intermediaries as the only sanctioned bridge. That shifts counterparty and compliance risk onto those intermediaries, while pushing activity that still wants self-custody toward channels regulators cannot see. The open question is whether the intermediary requirement, once it takes effect, functions as a workable gate or simply accelerates the migration it is meant to prevent.