Moscow Stock Exchange is Planning to Start Offering Crypto

According to a local outlet, the Moscow Stock Exchange (MOEX) is working on a bill that would enable it to start listing digital assets. These assets would be offered both as securities and directly as digital financial assets.

MOEX Working on a Bill That Would Enable it to Offer Digital Assets

The talks at the Banks of Russia – XXI Century financial forum have been more crypto-focused in 2022 than in previous years. Speaking on Thursday, Sergei Shvetsov, the Chairman of the MOEX supervisory board, announced that the exchange is working on a bill that could enable it to list digital assets as securities.

Digital assets will enter Russia’s financial markets in two formats. The first one will see them traded as securities, while the second would release digital financial assets themselves. The bill is currently under review by the Central Bank of Russia.

We want the market to make its own choice, blockchain accounting or depositary accounting, and if the law is passed, then Russian depositories will be able to accumulate digital financial assets on their accounts in the blockchain – as soon as the client needs the underlying asset, he will redeem the receipt to his account in blockchain will receive the asset.

Russia Wants More Crypto Regulation and Availability

Earlier in the weeks, it was reported that the Ministry of Finance of Russia reached an agreement with the country’s Central Bank with regard to digital assets. According to Alexei Moiseev, the Deputy Minister of Finance, this move is aimed at incentivizing Russians to open crypto wallets within the country, rather than outside the Federation as has been the case so far.

The milestone agreement also aims at enabling payments for imports and exports with cryptocurrency.  This would enable Russia to join Iran which recently became the first country to use digital assets in international trading.

With the pressure of sanctions imposed upon the Russian Federation over its invasion of Ukraine mounting, the country is more incentivized to break the deadlock its crypto-regulation has been facing. The United Kingdom is currently working on a law that would make it more difficult for oligarchs to use the country to circumvent sanctions both with traditional, and digital assets.

This article originally appeared on The Tokenist