Moscow Exchange Launches Perpetual Futures on Bitcoin and Ethereum Indices

Moscow Exchange plans to launch perpetual futures on Bitcoin and Ethereum indices in September 2026, marking an important milestone for Russian investors. The exchange will provide a regulated framework for trading cryptocurrency exposure without requiring overseas accounts or direct ownership of digital assets.

The perpetual futures contracts will allow traders to trade changes in the settlement index without a fixed expiration date, providing a derivative position based on the performance of the underlying indicator rather than direct ownership of the coin. This product gives investors a new trading instrument and creates infrastructure for the legal ownership, transfer, and verification of digital assets within the Russian legal system.

The Moscow Exchange will not create its own crypto depository but instead work with external partner depositories to record and control digital assets. This partnership model is designed to service transactions and records within a closed regulated ecosystem rather than give users independent control over private keys.

Ruble settlements on the exchange move the trading and clearing side of the transaction into the Russian financial system, reducing dependence on foreign accounts and intermediaries. However, this does not eliminate market risk, liquidity risk, or exchange-rate risk, as changes in the ruble exchange rate can affect the final ruble result even if the price of the underlying indicator barely changes.