The Moscow Exchange, which is under U.S. sanctions, plans to launch trading in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT on December 1, while requiring retail investors to pass a test and imposing an annual purchase limit.
According to CoinDesk, Russia’s largest exchange will bring crypto trading to the screens where Sberbank and Gazprom shares are bought and sold. Under the plan announced Monday, Russian investors will be able to trade Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and dollar-pegged USDT through the existing exchange infrastructure.
Trading hours will match those of the stock market, from 06:50 to 23:50 Moscow time. National Clearing Centre will handle settlement; trades can be settled the same day or the following day. Swap transactions will also be used to manage liquidity.
Test and annual limit for retail investors
Retail investors will have to pass a test before they can start buying crypto. These investors will be able to buy up to 300,000 rubles worth of cryptocurrency per year through a single broker, equivalent to about $3,700, according to the report. No purchase cap will apply to qualified investors.
The new channel aims to give investors in Russia access through a domestic exchange, alongside foreign crypto exchanges and peer-to-peer trading platforms.
Sanctions questions surround USDT plan
One notable feature of the plan is that USDT will also be on the trading list. The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned the Moscow Exchange and National Clearing Centre in June 2024. Tether, the issuer of USDT, freezes wallets placed on the U.S. sanctions list.
It remains unclear how Tether will apply this policy to USDT held through the Moscow Exchange’s clearing institution. CoinDesk reported that it had requested comment from the company.
$49 billion in volume projected for the first year
According to a forecast for the end of August cited in the report, trading volume in the first year under Russia’s new crypto rules could reach 4 trillion rubles, or about $49 billion. That amounts to an average of around 11 billion rubles per day.
In February, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov estimated the country’s daily crypto trading volume at 50 billion rubles. The gap between the two estimates suggests that foreign exchanges and peer-to-peer platforms could retain a significant share even after a domestic trading channel opens.
Not investment advice.