Moscow Exchange prepares to start trading cryptocurrencies this year

The Moscow Exchange intends to start trading cryptocurrencies once Russia enforces its digital-asset regulations in the coming weeks.

The platform is among a growing number of major financial institutions announcing crypto products and services ahead of the adoption of the new Russian law.

MOEX to begin cryptocurrency trading this summer

Russia’s main market for stocks and derivatives, the Moscow Exchange (MOEX), plans to soon offer clients the option to directly buy and sell digital coins.

According to Viktor Zhidkov, the chief executive of its operator, testing will begin in early summer, while full-scale crypto trading should commence later this year.

The exchange is currently “developing a concept for cryptocurrency trading” while waiting for Russian authorities to finalize the country’s comprehensive regulatory framework.

The platform’s management wants to see what shape and form it will take in the end to avoid making any mistakes, the chairman of the MOEX board told the business news outlet RBC.

“We are preparing testbeds so that our traditional infrastructure is ready,” the CEO said in an interview published Thursday, further elaborating:

During the initial stage, only professional market participants will be admitted to the trials, Zhidkov noted, with slots available to as many as possible so that they can later provide such services to their clients.

MOEX expects to fully open its crypto trading market to customers by the end of the year, after the necessary legislation is passed and all other relevant regulations are introduced, he added.

While insisting the exchange needs to carefully prepare for that, taking into account all the risks that may arise, Viktor Zhidkov emphasized it is technically ready to process crypto trades.

His statements come after the head of the supervisory board of MOEX, Sergey Shvetsov, earlier said that the first crypto transactions on the platform would likely take place in early 2027.

Other players join race to offer regulated crypto services

Russia aims to adopt its law “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights” no later than July 1, 2026, as part of a legislative package meant to legalize crypto transactions in its economy.

The legislation is based on a policy announced by the Central Bank of Russia in December 2025, which envisages recognizing decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as “monetary assets.”

It will also regulate operations with them, such as investment and trading, while expanding investor access to allow even non-qualified investors to acquire and exchange them, albeit under certain restrictions, such as a proposed annual purchase limit of around $4,000.

While dedicated crypto platforms will be able to obtain licenses for their activities, Russia’s approach is to rely heavily on its existing traditional infrastructure.

A number of major financial institutions are now joining the race to be ready to offer customers regulated crypto services and products as soon as that becomes legal.

Among them is Sberbank, the biggest lender in the country, which recently announced it will provide retail and corporate clients with crypto exchange, storage, credit, and tokenization services.

This will be done through a platform called Web3Gate, developed together with Rostelecom, which will give them access to popular public blockchain networks, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Sberbank and MOEX were among the first financial firms to present crypto derivatives on the Russian market after Bank of Russia authorized their offering in the spring of 2025.

The Moscow Exchange, which has been trading Bitcoin futures since last year, launched indices for several altcoins in May and later, futures contracts based on them, as reported by Cryptopolitan.

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