Trading Volume for Bitcoin ETF Futures on Moscow Exchange Surpasses 423 Million Rubles on Launch Day

On June 4, the Moscow Exchange launched trading in futures on the stocks of the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF by BlackRock. On the first day of trading, the transaction volume exceeded 423 million rubles, with nearly 8,600 contracts exchanged.

Access to this new financial instrument is limited to qualified investors.

Brokers generally reacted positively to the commencement of trading. Dmitry Lesnov, the Deputy CEO for Brokerage Business at Finam, remarked to Kommersant that the initial figures were «quite good for a first day.»

Sergey Selyutin from VTB My Investments described the opening day as a «testing the waters» phase, where investors are looking for new portfolio diversification options.

Experts believe that the futures will attract investors seeking legal avenues to engage with cryptocurrency, along with a younger demographic.

Sergey Rybakov from Go Invest emphasized that products related to crypto assets are gaining traction amid the overall interest in the industry.

Maxim Romodin from Regional Investment Company anticipates demand from asset management firms preparing to launch funds with cryptocurrency exposure. Lesnov also speculated about the emergence of arbitrage strategies.

Artem Rasskazov from Sinara Bank pointed out that this simplifies position management. Alexander Gusev from T-Investments added that narrow spreads and the ability to execute trades quickly may attract speculators.

It’s worth noting that earlier this month, Sber announced the release of Bitcoin bonds. This instrument is available to qualified investors on the OTC market.