Moscow Exchange plans to begin trading Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT on December 1, 2026, using its existing stock market infrastructure. Retail access will require a knowledge test, and nonqualified investors face an annual purchase cap.
Moscow Exchange has confirmed plans to launch trading in Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT on December 1, 2026. Boris Blokhin, the exchange's senior managing director for sales and business development, announced the plans at the Smartlab investment conference in Moscow, according to an October 31 report by RBC.
Blokhin said the exchange had already begun testing cryptocurrency transactions with professional market participants. It would continue admitting additional firms as their systems became ready.
Three coins chosen to meet Bank of Russia requirements
The exchange intends to start with three cryptocurrencies that meet the Bank of Russia's requirements for trading by nonqualified investors. Bitcoin and Ethereum will trade alongside Tether's USDT, a stablecoin designed to maintain a value close to the U.S. dollar.
The service will run through the infrastructure already used for securities transactions. According to Blokhin, the arrangement should reduce the additional costs faced by brokers and other professional participants.
Trading is expected to run from 6:50 a.m. until 11:50 p.m. Moscow time. Investors will submit buy and sell orders through an electronic order book.
Retail investors face a knowledge test and a cap
The launch follows Russia's regulations, which began taking effect on September 1. Nonqualified investors must pass a knowledge assessment before buying approved cryptocurrencies, and their annual purchases are limited to 300,000 rubles through each intermediary.
Qualified investors face no equivalent purchase ceiling, although they must meet the applicable testing requirements. Meanwhile, partner digital depositories will hold and account for customer cryptocurrencies, and brokers will give clients access to trading.
Futures already draw qualified investors
The exchange already offers crypto products. In September, it introduced five crypto perpetual futures tied to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP and Tron indexes. Access to those contracts is restricted to qualified investors.
The exchange previously reported that more than 72,000 qualified investors had traded its cryptocurrency futures, with cumulative turnover exceeding 600 billion rubles. Blokhin said the exchange expects demand for the new service, citing the departure of foreign cryptocurrency platforms from the Russian market.
Source: crypto.news
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
