Moscow Exchange to Open Crypto Trading on December 1
Moscow Exchange says bitcoin, ether and USDT will trade from December 1, with caps and a knowledge test for ordinary retail buyers.
Russians who want to buy bitcoin through an exchange get that option on December 1. Moscow Exchange has confirmed the start date for bitcoin, ether and the USDT stablecoin, and it calls this the country's first organized digital currency market.
Limits for ordinary buyers
Retail access comes with conditions. A person who is not a qualified investor must pass a knowledge assessment before buying any cryptocurrency.
After that, purchases are capped at 300,000 rubles a year, about $3,700, through each broker.
The conditions follow from Russia's new cryptocurrency legislation. It took effect on September 1, and the new market operates under it.
How much may reach the exchange
Sberbank has estimated that crypto trading in Russia could reach at least 4 trillion rubles, about $46 billion, in the first year under the new framework. The same bank expects only about 20% of the transactions to pass through regulated exchanges. The rest would stay outside supervised markets.
Trading on stock market systems
The exchange announced the plan on November 2. It is not building a separate venue. Orders will go through the existing stock market infrastructure, and the National Clearing Center will process the transactions.
The session runs from 6:50 a.m. to 11:50 p.m. Moscow time, the same hours as regular securities trading. Customers can pick same-day or next-day settlement, called TOD and TOM. Swap transactions are also planned, which help participants manage liquidity.
Both address-based and addressless trading modes will be offered. More international cryptocurrencies and Russian digital assets are meant to join the list over time.
Pilot first, wider access later
Exchange executive Boris Blokhin said on October 8 that testing with professional participants had started about a week earlier. He added that the exchange could begin crypto trading under its existing licenses, with no new regulatory approvals.
The December start is a pilot stage. Financial institutions and other participants will gain access as they finish their preparations. Interest has come from securities traders and their clients, and from businesses that already use digital assets to invest or pay.
Our View
Sberbank's 20% figure sets the bar for this launch. If the exchange wants a larger share, the retail cap and the knowledge test are possible friction points next to channels outside supervision. Volumes after December 1 will show whether those limits push buyers away, and how fast other participants finish their preparations.
Source: Bitcoin News