Russia has cleared domestic exchanges to begin cryptocurrency trading from Nov. 22, 2026, subject to approval of their trading rules by the Bank of Russia.
Summary
- Russia has allowed domestic exchanges to begin cryptocurrency trading from Nov. 22, provided their trading rules receive approval from the Bank of Russia.
- Exchanges must register market participants, maintain records of orders and transactions, calculate pricing indicators and report trading activity to the central bank.
- The new requirements follow Russia’s September cryptocurrency legislation, which established a regulated framework for exchanges, brokers, crypto exchange providers and digital depositories.
- Moscow Exchange plans to launch cryptocurrency trading on Dec. 1 and has been testing transactions with professional market participants ahead of the rollout.
According to a Nov. 11 report from Interfax, the Russian Ministry of Justice has registered a central bank directive setting out the requirements for organized trading in cryptocurrencies and digital rights.
The directive allows exchanges to introduce cryptocurrency trading through the country’s existing financial market infrastructure, provided their operating rules have been agreed upon with the regulator.
The Nov. 22 effective date comes ahead of Moscow Exchange’s planned Dec. 1 launch, when the country’s largest securities trading platform expects to begin offering Bitcoin, Ether, and USDT transactions.
Russian crypto exchanges must meet new trading requirements
Before launching cryptocurrency trading, exchanges must establish procedures for registering market participants, maintaining transaction records, and monitoring trading activity.
The requirements cover brokers, trust managers, and central counterparties involved in cryptocurrency transactions. Trading organizers must maintain separate registers of orders and completed trades, giving regulators access to records of market activity.
Exchanges will be responsible for calculating several pricing indicators, including current prices, weighted average prices, market prices, and closing prices.
The Bank of Russia has required trading platforms to submit information about ongoing trading activity and completed transactions through the same reporting procedures currently used for other financial instruments.
The regulator had outlined similar requirements in July when it published its initial cryptocurrency market regulations, which covered organized trading, price calculations, and digital depository operations.
The framework places cryptocurrency trading within the reporting and market supervision arrangements already used by regulated Russian exchanges.
Bitcoin, Ether, and USDT approved for retail investors
Russia’s latest exchange trading rules follow a separate regulatory decision on Nov. 6 that approved Bitcoin, Ether, and Tether’s USDT for purchase by nonqualified investors.
The Bank of Russia confirmed that the approved asset list would take effect on Nov. 17, allowing exchanges to admit those cryptocurrencies for public trading from that date.
Retail investors without qualified status can purchase up to 300,000 rubles in cryptocurrencies annually through each intermediary. Transactions can take place through brokers, trust managers, and registered cryptocurrency exchange providers.
Qualified investors face no equivalent purchase limit and can access other cryptocurrencies, although both investor categories must pass a knowledge test and review the associated investment risks before trading.
The central bank selected eligible retail cryptocurrencies using market capitalization, average daily trading volume, and pricing records from foreign exchanges spanning at least five years.
Russia’s regulated cryptocurrency market opened on Sept. 1 after the country’s law on digital currencies and digital rights came into force.
As previously reported by crypto.news, the legislation established separate roles for existing financial institutions, cryptocurrency exchange providers, and digital depositories responsible for recording ownership and transfers.
Moscow Exchange prepares for December launch
Moscow Exchange has scheduled its cryptocurrency trading launch for Dec. 1 and has been testing transactions with professional market participants ahead of the rollout.
Boris Blokhin, senior managing director for sales and business development at Moscow Exchange, said in October that the platform would use a partner settlement digital depository where participating firms would open accounts.
The exchange expects to operate under its existing regulatory permissions without obtaining additional licenses specifically for cryptocurrency trading.
Its planned trading service will support Bitcoin, Ether, and USDT, with trading hours expected to run from 6:50 a.m. to 11:50 p.m. Moscow time.
Brokers will provide investor access to the platform, while the partner digital depository will handle the custody and settlement arrangements for cryptocurrency transactions.
Russia has already begun registering the institutions needed to support the new market.
In October, the central bank approved its first operators, initially admitting four cryptocurrency exchange providers and five digital depositories.
The initial registrations included major Russian financial institutions such as Sberbank and VTB, alongside companies specializing in digital asset infrastructure.
According to the central bank’s October announcement, registered digital depositories can record and transfer cryptocurrencies and digital rights, while cryptocurrency exchange providers can buy and sell digital currencies on their own behalf outside organized trading.
The registered institutions must comply with applicable transaction and recordkeeping requirements and bring their operations fully into line with the new legislation by Sept. 1, 2027.
