Russia may be considering setting up at least two crypto exchanges to support foreign economic activity, a Kommersant report has revealed.

According to the report, one of the exchanges would use the database of the St. Petersburg Currency Exchange (SPCE) for foreign economic activities.

The second exchange is reportedly set to be established in Moscow. However, sources did not disclose whether it will be established on the basis of the Moscow Exchange or separately.

Initially, only a few users will use these exchanges in “test mode,” said Mikhail Uspensky, member of the legislative regulation of cryptocurrencies of the State Duma, Russian Federation. Later, it will be open to large exporters and importers, he added.

Uspensky believes that small and medium-sized companies, and especially private individuals, are unlikely to have unhindered access to the stock exchanges at first.

“It is important to emphasise again that the contours of the future experiment depend entirely on the regulator,” he added.

Exchanges focus on Chinese Yuan and BRICS currency-linked stablecoin

Furthermore, crypto exchanges will focus on creating stablecoins pegged to the Chinese yuan and the BRICS currency basket in general.

Russia has recently been talking about a favorable climate for stablecoins. The Russian central bank, Bank of Russia, indicated in July that it was considering legalizing stablecoins for cross-border transactions.

Furthermore, Russian commodity companies have turned to stablecoins to conduct financial transactions with Chinese counterparts. These moves came in response to international restrictions and stricter compliance measures.

Oleg Ogienko, head of communications at BitRiver, told Kommersant that stablecoins are digital financial assets under Russian law.

Uspensky further noted that the project carries significant risks. For example, if transaction confidentiality is breached, transaction information “could end up on sanctions lists.” This would also lead to blocking transactions involving crypto assets purchased on such domestic exchanges.

“Simply put, if information leaks into the public domain that cryptocurrency was purchased on a Russian exchange, then with the help of special technical means it will be easy to trace absolutely all transactions and mark them as suspicious.”

The expert believes that the centralised nature would undermine any trust.

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