Moscow Exchange plans to start direct cryptocurrency trading on December 1, marking a shift from crypto-linked derivatives to transactions in the underlying digital assets. Senior managing director Boris Blokhin said testing with professional market participants is already underway ahead of the planned launch.
The move fits into Russia’s new framework for digital assets, which gives established exchanges, brokers and asset managers a formal role in the market. Under that system, ordinary investors are expected to face tighter limits than qualified investors, both in the range of assets available and in how much they can invest.
From derivatives to spot-style access
Russia’s largest securities exchange has already offered crypto-linked products, including perpetual futures tied to assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The planned December rollout would take the next step by allowing direct crypto trading rather than limiting users to price exposure through derivatives.
Blokhin said Moscow Exchange is already testing the service with professional market participants. According to the exchange, those tests began roughly a week ago and are set to continue before the planned launch date.
How the new structure is expected to work
Moscow Exchange plans to rely on a partner digital depository for settlement, with market participants opening accounts through that infrastructure. Blokhin said the exchange does not expect to need any additional permit or license beyond the framework already in place.
The broader Russian model places conventional financial institutions at the center of digital-asset trading. Instead of leaving crypto activity mainly to specialist platforms operating separately from banks and securities markets, the new approach routes trading and recordkeeping through existing regulated market institutions.
Different rules for qualified and unqualified investors
The service is not expected to offer the same access to all investors. Under the new rules, unqualified investors will be limited to a narrower list of major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT.
Those investors will also face an annual investment cap through each intermediary. Qualified investors, by contrast, are expected to have broader access and will not be subject to the same amount limit. The structure reflects Russia’s more cautious approach toward opening crypto markets to ordinary consumers.
What the launch would mean
The government’s current approach allows trading and investment infrastructure to develop while keeping tighter restrictions on domestic crypto payments. If Moscow Exchange proceeds on December 1 as planned, crypto trading in Russia would become more closely integrated with the country’s traditional capital-market system.
Several practical details remain unclear, including liquidity, the trading pairs that will be available, custody arrangements and the exact customer experience. The immediate next step is continued testing before the scheduled launch, which should indicate how settlement and operational systems perform ahead of broader access.
Source: bitcoinist.com