Moscow Exchange Plans BTC, ETH and USDT Trading
The Moscow Exchange plans to start trading Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Tether (USDT) on December 1. Trading is scheduled from 06:50 to 23:50 Moscow time, with the National Clearing Centre handling trades and same-day or next-day settlement. Swap tools are also planned to support liquidity management. The Moscow Exchange’s crypto trading launch would bring the assets onto Russia’s main stock exchange, but both the exchange and clearing centre have been under US sanctions since June 2024. Tether may also freeze wallets linked to sanctioned parties, creating uncertainty around settlement. Retail investors will have to pass a test and face an annual purchase cap of 300,000 roubles (about $3,700) through one broker; qualified investors have no stated limit. Officials have cited substantial potential activity, including an estimate of 50 billion roubles in daily crypto turnover and a projection of 4 trillion roubles in the first year under the new rules.
Neutral
The planned Moscow Exchange listing could broaden access to BTC, ETH and USDT for Russian investors and potentially support local trading demand. However, the announcement does not establish that the launch has occurred or that it will create significant net buying in global markets. Retail purchase limits also constrain participation, while qualified investors face no stated cap. US sanctions on the exchange and clearing centre, alongside Tether’s ability to freeze wallets connected to sanctioned parties, create settlement and access risks that could deter some traders. In the short term, these factors are more likely to generate attention and uncertainty than a clear directional price catalyst. Over the longer term, the scale of actual trading, the operation of settlement services and any changes to sanctions or investor rules will matter more. The reported turnover figures are estimates, not evidence of realised demand. As the news mainly concerns a regional trading venue and introduces both access opportunities and operational risks, its direct price impact on BTC, ETH and USDT is assessed as neutral.