On October 31, Boris Blokhin, senior managing director of Moscow Exchange, told RIA Novosti: "We plan to launch cryptocurrency trading from December 1."
What is known
- Three cryptocurrencies at launch: bitcoin, ether and USDT.
- Format: order-book trading plus swap operations for liquidity management.
- Trading is planned from 7 a.m. to midnight Moscow time (04:00–21:00 UTC).
- Testing is already under way. "There are already clients actively testing in our environment," Blokhin said.
Moscow Exchange had talked about plans for crypto trading before, and Blokhin already named December 1 as the launch date on October 8. At that point, according to BeInCrypto, testing with professional market participants had been going on for about a week.
Still a plan
December 1 is the target date, and the exchange has not yet published the final trading terms.
The general rules for retail investors are set by Federal Law No. 282-FZ on digital currencies and digital rights and by the Bank of Russia. Non-qualified investors will only be able to buy the most liquid cryptocurrencies on the central bank's list, and only after passing a test. The limit is set by the central bank: its directive, still being registered with the Justice Ministry, puts it at 300,000 rubles a year through one intermediary. Qualified investors, according to the central bank, will be able to buy all cryptocurrencies traded on exchange and over-the-counter markets, with no limit, but also after a test.
Sources: Vesti.ru citing RIA Novosti, RT, BeInCrypto, Interfax, Cointelegraph.