Moscow Exchange Sets Dec. 1 Launch for Bitcoin, Ether and USDT Trading

Russia’s biggest securities marketplace is preparing to put Bitcoin, Ether and USDT onto the same organized infrastructure it uses for traditional financial assets.

Moscow Exchange says digital-currency trading is scheduled to begin December 1. The initial market will support BTC, ETH and USDT, with participants joining the pilot gradually as their systems are ready.

The exchange says the new market will use its existing stock-market technology and the National Clearing Centre’s unified clearing system. Trading is expected to run from 6:50 a.m. to 11:50 p.m. Moscow time, matching the exchange’s stock-market schedule.

Moscow Exchange describes the project as Russia’s first organized digital-currency market under the country’s newly adopted digital-assets law. The first stage will consist of pilot transactions, with additional trading participants connected as their systems become ready.

The planned product set includes same-day and next-day settlement as well as swaps for liquidity management. Non-qualified investors will need to pass a knowledge test and will be limited to 300,000 rubles in annual crypto purchases through a single broker.

Russia’s 300,000-ruble annual crypto cap for non-qualified investors counts completed buys and orders being assessed through each broker.

Moscow Exchange plans pilot trading from Dec. 1, with participants joining gradually.

via @pelicamatoshttps://t.co/HSmblI4iBp

— CryptoSlate (@CryptoSlate) November 7, 2026

What will actually trade

The opening lineup is deliberately narrow: Bitcoin, Ether and Tether’s USDT. Moscow Exchange says it expects to add more digital currencies and digital assets later, including both international and Russian instruments.

Customers are expected to have access to same-day settlement, next-day settlement and swap transactions for liquidity management. That makes the project more than a simple retail buy button.

The design is aimed at fitting crypto into the settlement and risk-management machinery already used by professional market participants.

CryptoSlate reports that the 300,000-ruble annual ceiling for non-qualified investors applies through each broker and includes completed purchases as well as orders being evaluated. Qualified investors are not subject to that same retail cap.

NEW: Russia’s central bank approves $BTC, $ETH and $USDT for purchase by non-qualified retail investors under a 300,000 ruble annual limit per intermediary.

Rules take effect November 17 as Moscow Exchange and Sberbank prepare to launch crypto trading December 1. pic.twitter.com/OZ8awZkhMn

— CoinDesk (@CoinDesk) November 6, 2026

A regulated bridge, with real limits

The move is another sign that major financial institutions are choosing to absorb crypto activity into regulated channels instead of treating it as a market that can simply be kept outside the system. For Bitcoin and Ether, access through a national exchange could expand the pool of investors who are comfortable using familiar brokers and centralized clearing.

But the structure matters. Retail access remains tightly constrained by testing and purchase caps, while the exchange’s sanctioned status creates a separate layer of operational and counterparty questions for international firms.

USDT is especially notable because its issuer has previously frozen tokens connected to sanctioned entities.

The December launch will therefore be worth watching for two reasons: whether Russian investors embrace the regulated venue, and how the exchange handles the practical tension between domestic demand for crypto and the international restrictions surrounding its infrastructure.

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