Overview
- The Moscow Exchange has announced a staged pilot to let market participants trade Bitcoin, Ether and Tether through its existing trading and settlement infrastructure.
- Access will be phased and require participant onboarding and qualification checks, with unqualified retail customers required to pass a knowledge test before buying.
- Regulators will cap annual purchases for unqualified investors at 300,000 rubles through a single broker to limit retail exposure.
- Trades will clear through the National Settlement Centre and use MOEX systems, but key operational questions remain unresolved about custody, whether customers receive on‑chain coins or depository claims, and how withdrawals and asset segregation will work.
- The move builds on recent steps that expanded regulated crypto products on MOEX and allowed licensed dealers to offer CFDs, and it could push some customers toward off‑exchange or foreign venues if operational or sanctions risks are not resolved.