Moscow Exchange opens Bitcoin spot trading to retail investors on December 1

Moscow Exchange plans to launch cryptocurrency trading on December 1, according to an October 8 Interfax report citing Boris Blokhin, the exchange’s senior managing director for sales and business development.

Blokhin said testing with professional market participants had begun about a week earlier. The exchange plans to use a partner digital depository where participants will open accounts, and he said no additional permits or licenses would be needed for the launch.

The planned rollout follows Russia’s new law on digital currencies and digital rights, which took effect September 1. The framework allows cryptocurrency transactions through existing financial institutions, including brokers and asset managers, while introducing digital depositories to record ownership of the assets.

Russia’s central bank has already begun admitting firms to the new market. On October 6, it registered the first five digital depositories and four cryptocurrency exchange operators under the law’s transitional provisions.

Depositories can record and transfer digital currencies and provide clients with access to the addresses holding them. The registered exchange operators can buy and sell cryptocurrencies on their own account outside organized trading.

Investor access will depend on qualification status. Ordinary investors will be able to purchase Bitcoin, Ether and Tether’s USDT within an annual limit of 300,000 rubles through each intermediary. 

Qualified investors will have access to cryptocurrencies available on exchange and other trading venues without an amount limit. Both groups must pass a test before trading.

The framework expands investment access while maintaining the prohibition on using cryptocurrency for domestic payments. Exporters and importers, however, can use digital assets for international payments through intermediaries or directly through wallets, according to the Bank of Russia.