Key Takeaways
- • Moscow Exchange plans to begin regulated cryptocurrency trading on December 1, 2026, operating under its existing exchange license without needing additional permits, according to Director General Boris Blokhin.
- • Initial access is pilot-tested with professional participants, with testing reportedly begun a week before the announcement; non-qualified retail investors face investment limits, reported as a 300,000 ruble annual cap.
- • Non-qualified investors are reportedly limited to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT, with trading to be routed through a partner digital depository.
- • Sberbank estimates Russia's crypto trading volume in the first year could reach at least 4 trillion rubles, with only about 20% currently conducted through regulated exchanges.
Summary
The Moscow Exchange, Russia's largest securities exchange, plans to launch a regulated cryptocurrency trading service on December 1, 2026, according to reports from Odaily Planet Daily and Bitcoin.com News. Boris Blokhin, Director General of the Exchange's Securities Market, said the exchange's existing license already covers cryptocurrency trading services, eliminating the need for additional permits. He said related testing with professional participants began about a week before the announcement.
Russia's cryptocurrency regulations took effect September 1, permitting citizens to trade digital assets on domestic exchanges licensed by the Central Bank of Russia. Reports indicate that investors who do not qualify as accredited investors will face investment limits, with retail access reportedly capped at 300,000 rubles per year. Non-qualified investors are expected to be limited to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT. Some reports describe the planned trades as direct crypto transactions executed through a partner digital depository, moving beyond the derivatives tied to digital-asset prices that the exchange previously offered.
Sberbank estimates that Russia's cryptocurrency trading volume in the first year will reach at least 4 trillion rubles, with only about 20% conducted through exchanges and the remaining roughly 80% still taking place on unregulated channels. The figures and product scope are drawn from secondary reports, and the full original article could not be retrieved, so details may change before launch.
Russia's cryptocurrency regulations took effect September 1, permitting citizens to trade digital assets on domestic exchanges licensed by the Central Bank of Russia. Reports indicate that investors who do not qualify as accredited investors will face investment limits, with retail access reportedly capped at 300,000 rubles per year. Non-qualified investors are expected to be limited to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT. Some reports describe the planned trades as direct crypto transactions executed through a partner digital depository, moving beyond the derivatives tied to digital-asset prices that the exchange previously offered.
Sberbank estimates that Russia's cryptocurrency trading volume in the first year will reach at least 4 trillion rubles, with only about 20% conducted through exchanges and the remaining roughly 80% still taking place on unregulated channels. The figures and product scope are drawn from secondary reports, and the full original article could not be retrieved, so details may change before launch.
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