Launch of the Bitcoin Index on the Moscow Exchange is a big step towards legal regulation
Experts believe that this will simplify the bankruptcy procedure and international settlements
Bitcoin indexation on the Moscow Exchange will be a big step towards legal regulation of cryptocurrencies. Starting today, the exchange began publishing the rate calculation on a daily basis. As Realnoe Vremya experts explained, this event will simplify the bankruptcy procedure and international payments. However, there will be no large-scale changes immediately after the innovation; it is necessary to wait for the next steps. Read more about the fate of cryptocurrencies in Russia and the role of the Moscow Exchange in the newspaper’s report.
Daily Bitcoin indexation
On 10 June, the Moscow Exchange began calculating and publishing a new index — Bitcoin, the calculation will take place daily at 12.30.
To calculate the Bitcoin index, data on prices of perpetual futures and swaps on the BTCUSDT pair from four major crypto exchanges (Binance, Bybit, OKX and Bitget) are used.
The index is calculated as a weighted average of prices taking into account the weighting factors of the selected trading platforms. The weighting factors of the crypto exchanges are calculated based on the trading volumes of the instruments being monitored and will be revised quarterly.
In the future, the indicator may become the underlying asset for financial instruments, experts note.
The indicator is not yet an official appeal
Since Bitcoin is already in high demand around the world, Russia needs to accept this as a fact and include the currency in the legal field. Indexing the Moscow Exchange is a serious step towards this goal, private investment consultant Andrey Kochetkov expressed his opinion in a conversation with Realnoe Vremya.
“Calculating the official index on the Moscow Exchange is a useful thing, at least in that many of our crypto assets have a criminal record. They can be accepted as a means of paying off a citizen's obligations, for example, at the time of bankruptcy. For this, a certain official rate is needed,” Kochetkov outlined one of the advantages of the innovation.
The speaker explained: the indicator will show the ratio of bitcoin to the ruble, which will make it easier to assign a fine to the owner of the cryptocurrency.
Indexation will also facilitate international settlements: “Cryptocurrencies are used to conduct trade transactions on parallel imports — here, the presence of a certain official rate that will reflect Russian rubles will help to fulfil contractual obligations.”
It is difficult to predict the behaviour of bitcoin after the introduction of the indexer. According to the consultant, from June 10, against the background of the news, interest in cryptocurrency may increase sharply for several days — and then the rate will increase. At the same time, the Russian crypto market is not so large as to influence the global one after changes within the country:
“But the crypto market may increase after such changes, since, one way or another, this is the first serious step towards legal regulation. However, it is important to understand: the indicator is not yet an opportunity for official circulation and trading. We need to see what next steps will be taken.”
Kochetkov added: at the moment, the Moscow Exchange has not announced trading in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, so it is too early to talk about radical changes. “But a bad beginning is a bad beginning, maybe one day this will also become an official platform for the circulation of digital currencies.”
Moscow Exchange will take on the role of the main crypto exchange
Realnoe Vremya’s expert, digital economist Ravil Akhtyamova, expressed great confidence in the further growth of the Moscow Exchange's role in bitcoin trading. According to him, all the latest initiatives are aimed precisely at this:
Akhtyamova is confident: at the stage of introducing the indexer, there will be no significant changes in the Russian crypto market. This is only preparation for new regulations that will allow legal investment and settlements in cryptocurrency.
“The experimental legal regime assumes that transactions will be carried out only between qualified investors, and the requirements for such investors, in comparison with the current ones, are significantly increased. For them, in order for these assets to be recognized and carried out in accounting, naturally, quotes are needed. Actually, the Moscow Exchange will play this role of a recognized organizer of trade and a benchmark for assessing the value of such assets,” the speaker explained.
As for the Bitcoin rate, Ravil Akhtyamova agreed with the opinion of Andrey Kochetkov. According to him, the domestic Russian indexer will not affect the global crypto market in any way.
