Moscow Exchange will launch perpetual-style futures linked to five major cryptocurrencies on September 22, expanding regulated digital-asset exposure for qualified Russian investors without allowing them to take possession of the underlying tokens.
The new contracts will track Moscow Exchange indexes for Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP and Tron, the exchange announced on September 16. They will be available exclusively to investors classified as qualified under Russian regulations.
The products will be structured as cash-settled one-day futures with automatic daily rollover, effectively allowing positions to remain open indefinitely. They will be quoted in U.S. dollars but financially settled in Russian rubles, meaning investors receive exposure to cryptocurrency price movements without Bitcoin, Ether or other digital assets being delivered to their wallets.
The contracts extend Moscow Exchange’s existing perpetual-futures franchise, which already covers currencies, Russian and foreign equities, precious metals, equity indexes and government bonds.
Crypto Futures Turnover Passes 600 Billion Rubles
The expansion follows rapid adoption of Moscow Exchange’s first crypto-linked derivatives.
More than 72,000 qualified investors have traded the exchange’s existing cryptocurrency futures since their introduction last summer, with cumulative turnover exceeding 600 billion rubles, according to figures released by the exchange.
MOEX initially launched Bitcoin-linked futures in June 2025, followed by Ether products later that year. Unlike cryptocurrency derivatives traded on offshore exchanges, the contracts provide financial exposure through Russia’s established exchange and clearing infrastructure.
The new perpetual products remove the need for investors to manually roll expiring contracts. Each contract effectively expires daily and is automatically reopened, with variation margin and funding adjustments used to keep the instrument aligned with its reference index.
Moscow Exchange currently offers 31 perpetual futures across other asset classes, according to Finance Magnates. The September launch will bring the same structure to its growing crypto derivatives segment.
Russia Expands Regulated Crypto Exposure
The rollout reflects Russia’s increasingly differentiated approach toward digital assets. Authorities continue to restrict the use of cryptocurrencies as domestic payment instruments while gradually creating regulated channels through which sophisticated investors can obtain financial exposure to them.
That approach accelerated in 2025, when the Bank of Russia permitted financial institutions to offer certain cryptocurrency-linked instruments to qualified investors provided those products did not involve delivery of the underlying digital assets.
MOEX’s derivatives fit directly within that model: investors can speculate on or hedge movements in Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP and Tron while settlement remains within the conventional Russian financial system.
The restriction to qualified investors also separates the products from unrestricted retail crypto trading. Russian regulators have repeatedly emphasized the volatility and potential losses associated with digital assets while exploring controlled mechanisms for professional investors.
For Moscow Exchange, adding perpetuals also brings its product structure closer to crypto-native venues, where perpetual futures have become one of the industry’s dominant trading instruments.
There remains an important distinction. Offshore crypto perpetuals frequently allow substantial leverage and settle directly in cryptocurrencies or stablecoins. MOEX’s contracts instead use regulated exchange infrastructure, track exchange-calculated crypto indexes and settle financially in rubles.
The September 22 launch therefore represents another step in Russia’s effort to integrate cryptocurrency price exposure into its conventional capital markets without broadly legalizing direct cryptocurrency ownership and payments across the domestic financial system.
