Russia is set to see the launch of two cryptocurrency exchanges—one based on the St. Petersburg Currency Exchange focusing on foreign economic activity, while a decision on the other remains pending. This information comes from sources cited by “Kommersant“.
The second platform may be established in Moscow. It is yet to be decided whether it will utilize the Moscow Exchange infrastructure or be developed as a separate platform.
It is anticipated that participants of these exchanges will concentrate on operations involving stablecoins, particularly those based on the yuan and a basket of BRICS currencies.
Oleg Ogienko, Deputy General Director for Communications at BitRiver, noted that “stablecoins” might be interpreted as cryptocurrency. This interpretation presents certain challenges — both technological within the Russian blockchain and in terms of asset convertibility, liquidity accumulation, and collateral attachment.
“There is a viewpoint that stablecoins are digital financial assets under Russian legislation due to the presence of an issuing centre and an obligated party,” he added.
Yaroslav Shitsle, head of the “IT&IP Dispute Resolution” division at the law firm “Rustam Kurmaev and Partners,” explained that Federal Law 259-FZ “On Digital Financial Assets” establishes the legal framework for the issuance and circulation of digital financial assets but does not contain specific regulations governing the activities of cryptocurrency exchanges.
“As a result, there is currently no clear and unified mechanism for their creation and operation,” the lawyer added.
According to Mikhail Uspensky, a member of the Expert Council on Legislative Regulation of Cryptocurrencies in the State Duma, such platforms must currently comply with the provisions of the experimental legal regime (ELR).
He believes that initially, the test regime for platforms will be limited to a narrow circle of participants. Subsequently, access will be granted to major exporters and importers—subsidiaries, affiliates of “blue chips,” and businesses within their perimeter. The expert doubted that small and medium enterprises or individuals would be included in this group.
The expert highlighted the risk of breaching transaction confidentiality, which could lead to data being added to sanction lists and subsequent asset blocking.
“If information about cryptocurrency purchases on a Russian exchange leaks into the public domain, it could be easily tracked using special technical means, marking all transactions as suspicious,” he pointed out.
In July, the Russian State Duma passed a bill on the ELR in its second and third readings, allowing the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign trade. From September 1, the document empowers the Bank of Russia to create a platform for the legal execution of such transactions and the conduct of exchange trading.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Russian companies are attempting to address cross-border payment issues through cryptocurrencies.