Regulation · 5 min

Two Crypto Prop Firms Are on the Bank of Russia Warning List

Two firms in this comparison are named on a warning list published by the Bank of Russia. Both entries carry a reference number, the regulator's own wording and a date. Here they are, with what the list means and - more importantly - what it does not.

Two firms in this comparison appear on a warning list published by the Bank of Russia. That is not a rumour picked up from a forum: both entries are on cbr.ru, each with a reference number, a date and the wording the regulator uses. We checked both on 2 November 2026 and they are still there.

What the list is

The Bank of Russia keeps a public list of entities it says show "signs of illegal activity" in financial markets. Companies land on it for operating in Russia without a licence, for advertising financial services to Russian residents without authorisation, or for resembling a licensed participant without being one. It is an administrative warning list, not a court, and it is not a finding that anyone was cheated.

The two entries

FundedNext - entry 47769, dated 17 September 2026, naming fundednext.com, under the heading "signs of illegal professional securities market participant". The page was last updated the same day it was created.

UPSCALE.TRADE - entry 42739, dated 17 February 2026, last updated 3 March 2026, naming upscale.trade, t.me/UpscaleTradeBot and t.me/Alexs_Crypto, under the same heading.

Those are the only two entries we found among the 23 firms in our table, and every one of the 23 has now been checked against the list on a recorded date - the check date is printed against each firm on the payout evidence page.

What it means, and what it does not

It means a regulator has published the brand's name in connection with unlicensed activity in its jurisdiction. For a trader outside Russia that has no direct legal effect: a Cypriot or UAE-based firm is not regulated by the Bank of Russia and is not required to be.

It does not mean a firm refused a payout, and we have found no evidence that either did. A warning list entry and a payment record are different kinds of fact, and the site keeps them in different places for that reason.

What it does tell you is something about how a firm chooses to operate in a market where it is not licensed - and, if you are in Russia, that the firm is on a list your own regulator publishes.

Why we publish it at all

Because it is checkable in about a minute, and because almost nobody in this niche checks. Search for either firm and you will find reviews that quote the split, the drawdown and the payout speed - all of it copied from the firm's own site - and not one mention that a central bank has published its name. That silence is not an accident of research; it is what happens when a review is written to earn a commission.

We have no affiliate arrangement with either firm. If that changes, the link will be marked as sponsored and the disclosure will sit at the top of the page, as it does on the four reviews that do earn us a commission.

How to check it yourself

The list is searchable in English at cbr.ru/eng/inside/warning-list. Search the brand or the domain, open the entry, and read the two fields that matter: the wording of the "signs detected" line, and the date. If a firm you are considering is on it, treat that as one more fact in the same category as the payout terms - not a verdict, and not something to ignore.

Where the firm figures live

Nothing on this page is a firm's published number. The dated figures for each firm are on the comparison page and on the individual reviews, each with the source page it came from.

If something here is wrong, send the correction to research@cryptopropfirms.com.