The Moscow Exchange is testing cryptocurrency trading processes with brokers and preparing to launch as soon as the regulatory framework is adopted. Several sources among brokers and lawyers in the field of digital assets told Forbes about this. The Moscow Exchange press service confirmed the plans, clarifying that the platform is "actively working on solutions to serve this segment."
Currently, the exchange is creating a "sandbox" for brokers — an isolated test mode where trading, accounting, and cryptocurrency operations are worked out before they are launched into the production environment. Forbes' sources associate the start of trading with the adoption of the draft law "On Digital Currency and Digital Rights," which the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance have been developing since the fall of 2024. If the law is adopted in the spring session, conditions should be created by July 1, 2027, for the full operation of crypto exchanges and exchangers under the supervision of the Central Bank.
Trading will be conducted in rubles. At the start, only listed coins — effectively Bitcoin and Ethereum — will be available to unqualified investors. Qualified investors will have wider access, but also only through licensed intermediaries. Anonymous coins — Monero, Zcash, and the like — will be prohibited. Residents will be able to conduct transactions exclusively through licensed intermediaries; there are no restrictions for non-residents.
SPB Exchange is also named as a contender for launching a crypto platform — it has confirmed its technical readiness for trading crypto instruments and, according to a number of market participants, is capable of outpacing the Moscow Exchange. Both platforms are under U.S. sanctions, but these do not prohibit cryptocurrency trading — they only limit access to Western settlement infrastructure.
The key question for ordinary investors is whether it will be possible to withdraw purchased assets to foreign platforms like Binance or ByBit. Experts are skeptical: exchanges check the origin of tokens through the KYT procedure, and cryptocurrency purchased through Russian infrastructure is highly likely to fail this filter due to sanctions risks. The domestic market, therefore, will be significantly limited in scope.
Read more materials on the topic:
- New status of digital assets: the law on the seizure of cryptocurrency during criminal proceedings was approved on February 18
- Law adopted: cryptocurrency can now be seized and arrested on legal grounds
- Central Bank revealed details of future cryptocurrency regulation: unlicensed operations will become illegal from 2027
