Moscow Exchange plans to launch trading in Bitcoin, Ether and Tether’s USDT on Dec. 1, opening what it describes as Russia’s first organized digital currency market.
The exchange said Monday that pilot trades would begin as participants join the platform. Trades will use its existing stock-market infrastructure and be cleared through the National Clearing Center (NCC), with trading hours from 6:50 am to 11:50 pm Moscow time.
The venue will initially support same-day and next-day settlement, as well as swap transactions. Non-qualified investors must pass a test before purchasing crypto and will be limited to purchases of 300,000 rubles (about $3,700) annually per broker, according to the exchange.
The launch follows a Russian crypto law whose main provisions took effect Sept. 1. The law permits regulated trading but maintains a ban on cryptocurrency payments for goods and services in Russia.
Moscow Exchange and the NCC have been under US sanctions since June 2024, when the UK also sanctioned the exchange. The European Union added it to its sanctions list in July 2026.
Is there demand for a sanctioned exchange?
Sergey Mendeleev, founder of Russian cross-border payments platform Exved, told Cointelegraph he doubted the proposed market would attract significant demand.
“Neither the global nor the local market will notice anything at all,” he said, questioning who would trade on a sanctioned exchange.
The UK sanctioned Mendeleev on May 26.
Mendeleev also predicted uncompetitive trading conditions, comparing the prospective offering to precious metals accounts at Russian lender Sberbank, where customers trade account balances without taking possession of physical metal.
Related: Russia to ban direct peer-to-peer crypto trades starting July 2027
He warned that investors could face “absolutely outrageous spreads,” referring to the difference between buying and selling prices. “For ordinary non-qualified investors, this is an entirely unattractive and unprofitable proposition,” he said.
Mendeleev saw potential for the platform to support cross-border payments. He said a venue where importers and exporters could buy and sell crypto directly with one another would be welcome, but questioned whether adding another intermediary would be competitive in a market where traders negotiate over price differences as small as 0.05%.
“I hope this will mark a genuine breakthrough for foreign trade,” he said.
Helen Partz contributed reporting
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