The Moscow Exchange plans to launch five crypto perpetual futures on September 22, tracking indices for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Tron. The new products will be available exclusively to qualified investors, settle in cash, and do not require actual ownership or delivery of the underlying crypto assets.
Covering five crypto indices
According to the exchange’s disclosure on September 16, these contracts correspond to the BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, and TRX indices, with the codes BTCUSDF, ETHUSDF, SOLUSDF, XRPUSDF, and TRXUSDF. The contracts will be denominated in U.S. dollars but settled in Russian rubles.
The Moscow Exchange stated that these products will operate with a "daily futures auto-rollover" mechanism and roll according to a daily funding rate structure. The parameters published by the exchange set K1 at 0% and K2 at 0.35%.
Prior to this, the Moscow Exchange had already offered monthly futures linked to the above five indices. Bitcoin and Ethereum index futures began trading in November 2025, while contracts related to Solana, XRP, and TRON were launched on May 14, 2026.
Still structured as a cash-settled contract
This new batch of contracts maintains the fundamental design of the existing crypto derivatives on the Moscow Exchange. Upon expiration or settlement, no actual cryptocurrency delivery occurs; instead, the exchange and brokers calculate profits and losses based on price movements and complete cash settlement.
Since the underlying asset is priced in U.S. dollars, fluctuations in the USD/RUB exchange rate also affect the final RUB settlement amount. The exchange states that investors can thus participate in the price movements of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, or TRON without directly holding these assets.
The Moscow Exchange currently offers perpetual futures contracts across other asset classes, with a total of 31 perpetual contracts available, covering exchange rates, exchange indices, government bond indices, precious metals, as well as Russian and international securities.
Cumulative trading volume exceeds 600 billion rubles.
The Moscow Exchange stated that since launching crypto-related futures last summer, more than 72,000 qualified investors have participated in trading, with a cumulative turnover exceeding 600 billion rubles. This data was disclosed by the exchange and is not based on the Central Bank of Russia's reporting standards.
The exchange did not further break down the trading volumes contributed by Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and TRON. Its 2025 annual report shows that over 40,000 clients traded crypto-related contracts in 2025 alone, with a total annual trading volume exceeding 212 billion rubles.
Available only to qualified investors
The product structure aligns with the rules issued by the Central Bank of Russia in May 2025. As required at the time, financial institutions may offer derivatives, securities, and digital financial assets linked to cryptocurrency prices to qualified investors, but physical delivery of cryptocurrencies is prohibited.
The Moscow Exchange also reiterates on the product page that both individuals and institutions must qualify as accredited investors, and brokers will determine whether clients are eligible to activate relevant trading permissions.
Russia has adjusted the rules for direct cryptocurrency trading effective September 1, 2026. Under the central bank’s framework, both qualified and non-qualified investors may access cryptocurrencies through regulated intermediaries, but under different conditions. Specific retail investors must pass a test and are subject to an annual purchase limit of 300,000 rubles per intermediary; qualified investors, after completing the corresponding test, are not subject to the same purchase limits.
Under this context, the upcoming perpetual futures on the Moscow Exchange remain a standalone derivatives product line, with access still limited to qualified investors.