The Moscow Exchange, Russia’s largest exchange group, announced the launch of Bitcoin futures contracts on June 4th, 2025. The new derivatives will allow qualified investors in Russia to gain exposure to bitcoin prices without directly owning it.
The bitcoin futures contracts are cash-settled in Russian rubles and will be tied to the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) that trades on U.S. exchanges. The IBIT ETF tracks the price of bitcoin, with each share representing 0.00068 bitcoin.
Trading for the new bitcoin futures kicked off on Wednesday, with the first contracts expiring in September 2025. Each futures contract will be denominated in U.S. dollars per bitcoin but settled in rubles.
The launch of bitcoin futures on the Moscow Exchange comes after increased interest in Bitcoin exposure from Russian financial institutions. In May, Russia’s central bank formally permitted the offering of crypto-linked securities and derivatives to qualified investors. Prior to this, direct investment in Bitcoin was discouraged.
Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, also announced plans to unveil its own bitcoin futures product in addition to the Moscow Exchange’s offering. The bank is launching exchange-traded notes that track Bitcoin’s price without direct ownership.
Bitcoin futures and other crypto-derivatives have seen surging interest recently as the Bitcoin and crypto industry matures. The move comes as an increasing number of countries have started adding Bitcoin to their reserves.
As Bitcoin adoption increases, investors and financial institutions are seeking more routes to gain exposure to Bitcoin. The launch of futures on the Moscow Exchange provides regulated bitcoin exposure to qualified Russian investors. But direct ownership of “physical” bitcoin remains off limits for most in Russia’s traditional finance sector.
