After NASDAQ, Moscow Stock Exchange is Planning to Introduce Bitcoin Futures

Russia’s largest stock exchange, the Moscow Stock Exchange (MOEX), is now planning to introduce Bitcoin futures on the platform, as reported by news.bitcoin.com.

As initially reported by the Russian news agency Tass.ru, the Russian central bank had banned the introduction of Bitcoin futures on the exchange. But the bank will re-consider the proposal after the cryptocurrency legislation is drafted.

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But in a statement to news.bitcoin.com, Andrey Braginskiy, MOEX Managing Director of Communication, denied the complete authenticity of Tass’ report, saying: “We haven’t asked the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) for permission to list the new futures contract. Therefore, stating that they have denied the permission is not accurate.”

“Generally, listing the new bitcoin index futures doesn’t require any new regulation. Of course, an agreement with an exchange that calculates the index is needed. But the Russian regulator needs to be in comfort,” he added.

Addressing the rise of cryptocurrency enthusiasts in the Russian society, he said: “There is a lot of hype around cryptocurrencies in Russia and bitcoin’s price is a top news story almost every day. So there is a lot of interest from brokers and their clients for exchange-listed futures.”

In August, the Moscow Stock Exchange first revealed that the platform is building infrastructures to support cryptocurrency trading. It was reported that the exchange would introduce cryptocurrency derivatives and exchange-traded-funds too.

Though there is an enormous penetration of Bitcoin in Russia, the state’s stance on cryptocurrencies is not clear. In mid-October, the Russian government announced that it would be banning access to cryptocurrency exchanges. While at the end of October, Russian President Vladimir Putin had issued five presidential orders demanding that Russian officials create a legal framework for the taxation of crypto miners, and the regulation of ICOs, among other things.

Recently, CME Group announced the introduction date of the its Bitcoin futures. From December 18 they will be available to trade on the CME Globex. The world’s second-largest stock exchange NASDAQ has also put forth its intention to introduce Bitcoin futures by mid-2018. Another exchange in the USA, Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe), released its plan to introduce Bitcoin derivatives by the end of 2018.

It is clear that the booming decentralized currencies are attracting the attention of the mainstream market.