Moscow Exchange plans to launch crypto trading on Dec. 1 under Russia’s new law, with annual purchase limits for non-qualified investors.
Moscow Exchange plans to launch trading in Bitcoin, Ether and Tether’s USDT on Dec. 1, opening what it describes as Russia’s first organized digital currency market.
The exchange said Monday that pilot trades would begin as participants join the platform. Trades will use its existing stock-market infrastructure and be cleared through the National Clearing Center (NCC), with trading hours from 6:50 am to 11:50 pm Moscow time.
The venue will initially support same-day and next-day settlement, as well as swap transactions. Non-qualified investors must pass a test before purchasing crypto and will be limited to purchases of 300,000 rubles (about $3,700) annually per broker, according to the exchange.
The launch follows a Russian crypto law whose main provisions took effect Sept. 1. The law permits regulated trading but maintains a ban on cryptocurrency payments for goods and services in Russia.
Moscow Exchange and the NCC have been under US sanctions since June 2024, when the UK also sanctioned the exchange. The European Union added it to its sanctions list in July 2026.
Sergey Mendeleev, founder of Russian cross-border payments platform Exved, told Cointelegraph he doubted the proposed market would attract significant demand.
“Neither the global nor the local market will notice anything at all,” he said, questioning who would trade on a sanctioned exchange.
Mendeleev also predicted uncompetitive trading conditions, comparing the prospective offering to precious metals accounts at Russian lender Sberbank, where customers trade account balances without taking possession of physical metal.
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