Russia's Top Stock Exchanges Prepare to Launch Regulated Crypto Trading by 2026
The Moscow Exchange (MOEX) and the St. Petersburg Exchange (SPbEX) have confirmed their readiness to launch regulated cryptocurrency trading by mid-2026, coinciding with the implementation of Russia's new legislative framework for crypto assets.
According to the Bank of Russia's regulatory concept published on December 23, 2023, July 1, 2026 is set as the deadline for developing comprehensive crypto legislation. MOEX stated that it is actively developing solutions to service the crypto market, while SPbEX confirmed it possesses the necessary technology for trading and settlements.
Since mid-2024, the Finance Ministry has proposed allowing qualified investors to trade digital currencies on licensed exchanges. Anatoly Aksakov noted that major exchanges are involved in building the required infrastructure for this development.
Under the proposed regulatory access rules, non-qualified investors may purchase liquid cryptocurrencies from a defined list after passing knowledge tests, with an annual cap of 300,000 rubles via a single intermediary. Qualified investors face no volume cap but must pass risk tests and are prohibited from buying anonymous tokens.
Crypto payments within Russia remain banned; all payments must be made in rubles. Cryptocurrency will not be recognized as money but will serve exclusively as investment instruments.
Between July 2024 and June 2025, Russia recorded $376.3 billion in received crypto transactions, making it Europe’s largest crypto market by transaction volume. Transfers exceeding $10 million grew by 86%, while decentralized finance (DeFi) activity rose eightfold in early 2025 before stabilizing at 3.5 times the mid-2023 baseline.
