Russia’s largest stock exchange, the Moscow Exchange (MOEX), appears to be planning to also offer clients trading and investing in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC) and other digital financial assets (DFA). This is apparent from a bill that the stock exchange has written.
Crypto trading in Russia
Speaking at a banking conference, Sergei Shvetsov, chairman of the MOEX’s supervisory board, said that the draft law provides for the trading of both DFAs and DFA certificates that serve as securitiesor securities, are traded. That reports the local newspaper Vedomosti:
“We want the market to make its own choice between blockchain accounting and depository accounting, and if the law is passed, Russian depositories will be able to hold DFAs in their accounts on the blockchain – once the client needs the underlying, they cash in the certificate and they receive the assets in their account on the blockchain.”
Shvetsov indicates that there is still a lot of work to be done. There are still a lot of questions that the stock market cannot answer at the moment.
The bill is currently being reviewed by the Russian central bank. During the summer a Russian legislator and chairman of the finance committee in the Russian lower house, the State Duma, that it might be a good idea to turn the MOEX into a full-fledged crypto exchange.
Western Sanctions
That the Russian government is investing so hard on the crypto industry does not seem to be a coincidence. Previously was already in the crypto news to read that Russian companies are allowed to use crypto in international payments. Such developments most likely have everything to do with Western sanctions.
Following the invasion of neighboring Ukraine, Russia has been showered with disastrous financial sanctions from the West. These sanctions are currently hitting the Russian financial sector like a wrecking ball. The crypto industry may be seen as a way to circumvent at least some of these sanctions.