Moscow Exchange announced plans to introduce perpetual futures for cryptocurrencies., 2026/04/16 19:52:47

The Moscow Exchange is preparing to broaden its range of cryptocurrency derivatives, including the introduction of so-called perpetual futures. This was announced by Maria Patrikeeva, the managing director of the derivatives market at the exchange.

According to the exchange representative, in May, the platform intends to launch futures for four cryptocurrencies, in addition to the existing instruments for Bitcoin and Ethereum. Trading for all these digital assets is expected to commence in June or July. Patrikeeva did not disclose which specific cryptocurrencies are involved. 

In February, Maria Silkina, the chief manager for the futures market product group, announced the launch of three new crypto indices for Solana, Ripple, and Tron, as well as plans to offer futures on these digital currencies. Prior to this, the head of the Moscow Exchange, Viktor Zhidkov, had reported intentions to introduce index calculations for ten cryptocurrencies. Since then, the exchange has only launched two indices, for Bitcoin and Ethereum, along with futures for them. 

Since the end of last year, futures on exchange-traded funds tracking Bitcoin and Ethereum prices have been available on the Moscow Exchange. In February, the exchange reported that the total volume of open positions for Bitcoin and Ethereum futures reached 9.3 billion rubles. Access to cryptocurrency futures is limited to qualified investors.

The launch of investment instruments linked to cryptocurrency prices became feasible after May of last year, when the Bank of Russia permitted the offering of derivatives tied to the value of cryptocurrencies for qualified investors, provided that these instruments do not involve the actual delivery of the asset. 

Regarding transactions involving the cryptocurrencies themselves, the Moscow Exchange plans to initiate them in early 2027.