Moscow Exchange (MOEX), Russia’s largest stock exchange, will launch Crypto Perpetual Futures linked to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP and TRON on September 22. The move expands Russia’s regulated cryptocurrency derivatives market shortly after a new legal framework for digital assets took effect. The contracts will be available exclusively to qualified investors.
The new instruments will track MOEX indices for the five cryptocurrencies and will not involve delivery of the underlying assets. Contracts will be quoted in U.S. dollars, while settlement will occur in Russian rubles. MOEX said the products are designed as cash-settled instruments, allowing investors to gain exposure to crypto price movements without holding the tokens.
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MOEX Expands Crypto Perpetual Futures
MOEX said more than 72,000 qualified investors have traded its crypto-linked futures since the exchange introduced its first products last summer. The total trading volume has exceeded 600 billion rubles. The new perpetual contracts will expand that existing offering from Bitcoin- and Ether-related instruments to five major crypto assets.
The contracts will use automatic rollover rather than a conventional expiration date. MOEX also disclosed funding parameters for the new products, with K1 set at 0% and K2 at 0.35%. Funding is a standard feature of crypto perpetual futures and is used to help keep contract prices aligned with the underlying market.
MOEX’s launch comes as Russia implements its new cryptocurrency framework. The Bank of Russia said the legislation took effect on September 1 and established regulated infrastructure for cryptocurrency circulation through intermediaries, exchanges and digital repositories. Qualified investors can transact in cryptocurrencies without the purchase limits applied to non-qualified investors.
Russia’s New Crypto Rules Set Framework
Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, has signed the cryptocurrency bill in August, setting the regulatory framework for exchanges, brokers, custodians, investors, and other market players. The regulatory mechanism allows conducting regulated cryptocurrency operations, but there are restrictions on using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment for goods and services within Russia.
Moreover, Bank of Russia has determined various requirements for qualified and unqualified investors. Unqualified investors will have access to certain liquid cryptocurrencies with annual purchase restrictions up to 300,000 rubles per intermediary after the required tests for suitability.
MOEX futures will be conducted in the market environment where direct ownership of cryptocurrency and derivatives are separated. Investors in the new contracts will not receive Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP or TRON. Instead, their financial result will depend on movements in the relevant crypto index, with final settlement conducted in rubles.
ETF Flows Show Mixed Crypto Demand
Spot ETF flows have also provided some extra information about four assets involved in MOEX’s new contracts. According to a recent post by CW on September 16, Bitcoin spot ETFs were marked with net outflows of $295.98 million, while outflows in Ethereum products reached $224.11 million. Solana and XRP products had inflows of $836,930 and $3.5 million, respectively.
The contrast is particularly relevant because MOEX’s products cover both established cryptocurrencies and assets with different market structures. Bitcoin and Ethereum account for the largest portion of the reported ETF flows, while Solana and XRP recorded smaller positive inflows on September 16. TRON is included in the MOEX lineup but was not covered by the cited ETF-flow data.
Cash Settlement Keeps Crypto Off Exchange
MOEX’s Crypto Perpetual Futures will allow qualified investors to trade cryptocurrency price movements without purchasing or storing the underlying assets. The quotations in dollars follow the system commonly accepted in the global crypto markets, whereas ruble settlement means that the gains and losses are going to be measured in rubles.
For MOEX, it is going to be the addition of five cryptocurrency indexes to the list of derivatives available in MOEX, which provides its users with derivatives based on equities, currencies, commodities, interest rates and other financial instruments. The exchange claims that there are over 180 futures contracts and associated options on the derivatives platform of MOEX.
Thus, the introduction on September 22 is going to widen the range of cryptocurrency derivatives at MOEX and limit the access only to qualified investors. There are currently over 72,000 participants on MOEX’s derivatives platform and over 600 billion rubles have been traded in crypto-futures.
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