Bitcoin Whipsaws as Crypto Futures Trading Volume in Russia Skyrockets

Updated

February 9, 2026

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Gambar Bitcoin Whipsaws as Crypto Futures Trading Volume in Russia Skyrockets

Jakarta, Pintu News – Russian crypto futures trading volumes hit a record high amid a major correction in the global digital asset market.

Some derivative instruments on the Moscow Exchange, the country’s largest stock exchange, recorded a spike in activity of over 700%, while Bitcoin plummeted about 30% of its value in just about a week.

Moscow Exchange Records Bitcoin Futures Trading Volume

The crypto spot market experienced a sharp correction in the past week or so, with many major coins falling to lows not seen since October 2024. The prices of the cryptocurrencies with the largest market capitalizations fell by almost a third between the end of January and the first week of February 2026.

At its lowest point this year, Bitcoin price briefly approached the $60,000 level before rebounding to around $68,000 on February 7 – still far below its latest record high of over $125,000 in October 2025. The price of Ethereum , the second-largest coin, even plummeted by more than 40%.

Amidst this, Russia’s relatively new crypto derivatives market has recorded a huge surge in activity. Business media RBC highlighted the latest data from the country’s main platform for such instruments.

The trading volume of the Moscow Exchange’s Bitcoin Index futures contract maturing this month jumped 434%, from a little over 380.3 million rubles (over $4.9 million) on January 28 to 2.03 billion rubles (nearly $30 million) on February 5.

The number of transactions also exploded, from 8,400 to 42,800 (more than 400%). Both figures are record highs since the contract was first launched, according to the Russian portal’s Investment page.

Meanwhile, futures trading on shares of the BlackRock IBIT Trust ETF ending in March rose 246%, from 590 million to 2.05 billion rubles, also hitting an all-time high in volume.

Moscow Exchange’s Ethereum Index futures maturing this month recorded a trading volume of 467.5 million rubles (over $6 million), up nearly 730% from 56.4 million rubles on Wednesday last week. The number of transactions also increased from 3,000 to 22,300.

The trading volume of the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) ETF futures contract with a March maturity also rose 178%, from 105 million rubles on January 28 to 291.5 million rubles in Russian currency, or nearly $3.8 million, as of last Thursday. The number of transactions jumped more than 400%, from 2,000 to 10,600.

In response to the data, Director of Derivatives Market Management at the Moscow Exchange, Maria Patrikeeva, emphasized:

“The average daily trading volume of crypto futures in the first week of February increased to ₽4 billion, double that of January this year, driven by high price volatility in the spot market.”

He also added that the total value of open interest in BTC and ETH derivatives has reached 9.3 billion rubles, and the exchange is seeing a shift in interest towards new index contracts whose prices reflect the movements of the top two cryptocurrencies.

Russia’s Crypto Derivatives Market Evolves Ahead of Full Regulation

MOEX management emphasized that crypto-based instruments not only allow investors to participate in the price movements of digital assets, but also provide opportunities to hedge their positions.

Russian derivatives based on cryptocurrencies have been traded since spring last year, after the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) allowed financial companies to launch such products on the domestic market by the end of May 2025.

For now, the instrument is only available to investors categorized as “highly qualified”, but this policy is likely to change this year. The latest draft regulation released by the monetary authority in December aims to expand investor access as part of a comprehensive regulatory framework that will be enforced by July 1, Cryptopolitan reported.

This new category of instruments in Russia – including securities and other digital financial assets (DFAs) tied to the value of cryptocurrencies – are generally denominated in US dollars, settled in rubles, and must not involve direct delivery of the underlying crypto asset.

MOEX was one of the first traditional players to enter this promising market, followed by Russia’s second largest stock exchange, the St. Petersburg Exchange (SPB). The CBR has also stated that it will rely on these existing pillars of financial infrastructure to facilitate crypto trading in the future.

A number of Russian analysts interviewed by RBC also commented on the latest developments. According to Dmitry Vishnevsky of Cifra Broker, the increased activity on MOEX was mainly triggered by BTC volatility in the global market.

Meanwhile, Andrey Varnavsky, Director of Digital Assets at Ingosstrakh Investments, argues that the surge in futures volumes in Russia is mostly driven by domestic demand. He also believes that the turnover value would be much larger if spot cryptocurrencies could actually be traded.

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*Disclaimer

This content aims to enrich readers’ information. Pintu collects this information from various relevant sources and is not influenced by outside parties. Note that an asset’s past performance does not determine its projected future performance. Crypto trading activities are subject to high risk and volatility, always do your own research and use cold hard cash before investing. All activities of buying and selling Bitcoin and other crypto asset investments are the responsibility of the reader.

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