Stephanie Douse 
Due to its complete compliance with Bank of Russia regulations, MOEX is likely to succeed in establishing a cryptocurrency trading branch, the official claimed.
Anatoly Aksakov, head of the Russian Banking Association and a member of the State Duma’s financial committee, believes that The Moscow Exchange (MOEX) is the ideal candidate to house a regulated cryptocurrency exchange in Russia.
A parliament official has called for the start of cryptocurrency trading on the biggest stock exchange in the nation as Russia continues to convey conflicting messages regarding the legal status of cryptocurrencies.
Aksakov emphasized the significance of developing a cryptocurrency exchange under the rigorous guidelines of the Russian central bank during a recent press conference, local news agency Prime reported on Thursday.
The senator emphasized that MOEX is likely to succeed in establishing a cryptocurrency trading branch because of its complete adherence to Bank of Russia regulations.
“That division — which will work as part of a respected organization with great traditions and highly engaged in actively interacting with the central bank — will do an excellent job with the task of handling cryptocurrency operations,” Aksakov noted.
Aksakov’s comments followed last week’s announcement by MOEX that it intended to file a lawsuit challenging European Union sanctions against the National Settlement Depository in order to defend the interests of Russian investors. In 2022, the stock market was one of the targets of international sanctions imposed on Russia and was forced to halt all operations for a month.
Global stock exchanges are common locations for products relating to digital assets. The first Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada in 2021. Some European stock market operators, such as Deutsche Boerse, have established specialized divisions for digital assets that list a variety of cryptocurrency investment products.
The Bank of Russia has been adamantly opposed to launching a local regulated crypto trading platform, thus the most recent news adds some uncertainty to Russia’s overall position on cryptocurrency.
“Cryptocurrencies should not be traded on organized marketplaces because these assets are too volatile, too risky for potential investors,” Bank of Russia governor Elvira Nabiullina said last month. A deputy governor at the bank also declared last year that Russia will only allow crypto trading via foreign trading platforms like Binance.
As was previously said, despite the country’s lack of legalization of even a single local cryptocurrency trading exchange, Russians have been aggressively investing in cryptocurrencies recently. All local trading has been made possible by international cryptocurrency companies or unregulated local exchanges.