Russia’s Moscow Exchange began trading automatically rolling futures on five cryptocurrency indices, expanding its regulated derivatives offering to Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP and Tron.
The contracts began trading on September 22 and are available only to qualified investors, according to the exchange. They are structured as one-day futures with automatic rollover, providing continuing exposure without a conventional expiration date.
The contracts are cash-settled in Russian rubles and quoted in U.S. dollars based on the corresponding Moscow Exchange crypto index. They do not require delivery of the underlying cryptocurrency.
Five crypto indices underpin new contracts
The new contracts are:
BTCUSDF — Moscow Exchange Bitcoin Index
ETHUSDF — Moscow Exchange Ethereum Index
SOLUSDF — Moscow Exchange Solana Index
XRPUSDF — Moscow Exchange Ripple Index
TRXUSDF — Moscow Exchange Tron Index
The exchange’s derivatives listings confirm the introduction of BTCUSDF and TRXUSDF on Sept. 22, while the broader launch covers all five crypto indices.
Moscow Exchange describes the instruments as perpetual futures because their daily contracts automatically roll forward. The structure allows positions to continue across trading days without investors taking delivery of the underlying assets.
Funding rate applies to the contracts
Funding for the new instruments is calculated under Moscow Exchange’s published specifications. The parameters K1 and K2 are set at 0% and 0.35%, respectively, according to the exchange’s contract terms.
The products therefore provide price exposure to crypto assets through the exchange’s derivatives market rather than through direct ownership or custody of the underlying tokens.
Crypto Derivatives trading has expanded
Moscow Exchange said more than 72,000 qualified investors had traded its digital-asset futures since the launch of its first crypto futures in the previous year, with cumulative transaction volume exceeding 600 billion rubles, according to Managing Director of the Derivatives Market Maria Patrikeeva.
The new products add five automatically rolling contracts to an existing range of crypto-linked futures, including conventional futures tied to Moscow Exchange’s cryptocurrency indices.
Current exchange data shows trading in the new products following their introduction. For example, TRXUSDF recorded trades and open interest on Sept. 23, while XRPUSDF was also trading on the derivatives market.
Index coverage expanded earlier this year
The new futures build on Moscow Exchange’s expansion of its cryptocurrency benchmarks.
The exchange added indices for Solana, XRP, Tron and BNB to its existing Bitcoin and Ether indices earlier this year. It also increased the frequency of index updates, with the benchmarks designed to reflect the continuously traded nature of cryptocurrency markets.
The indices use aggregated pricing information from cryptocurrency trading venues and provide the reference values for the exchange’s crypto-linked derivatives.
Launch follows Russia’s new crypto rules
The futures launch comes shortly after Russia’s cryptocurrency regulatory framework took effect on Sept. 1.
Under the framework, both qualified and non-qualified investors can conduct cryptocurrency transactions through intermediaries. Non-qualified investors face a 300,000-ruble annual purchase limit per intermediary for eligible cryptocurrencies after passing a test, while qualified investors can buy and sell cryptocurrencies without that purchase limit.
The Bank of Russia said the framework also establishes a regulated infrastructure for cryptocurrency trading and custody, including crypto exchanges and digital-asset repositories.
The Moscow Exchange futures are separate from direct cryptocurrency ownership: investors trade derivatives referenced to the exchange’s crypto indices, with settlement made in rubles.
Moscow Exchange expands beyond Bitcoin
The addition of Ether, Solana, XRP and Tron broadens Moscow Exchange’s crypto derivatives offering beyond Bitcoin-linked products.
The exchange’s derivatives market already covers contracts tied to equities, currencies, commodities, precious metals and other financial benchmarks. The new crypto products extend that framework to a wider group of digital-asset price indices.
The launch gives qualified investors access to crypto price exposure through Moscow Exchange’s existing derivatives infrastructure, without requiring the underlying cryptocurrencies to be delivered or held by the exchange.
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