The Moscow Exchange continues to aggressively expand its presence in the derivatives market, announcing the launch of 20 new one-day cash-settled futures with automatic rollover. The underlying assets of these instruments will be fixings on shares of the largest American corporations, calculated directly by the trading platform. Trading is scheduled to launch in two stages: September 8 and September 15.
This decision gives Russian investors direct access to the price dynamics of leading US technology and consumer companies without the need to purchase the underlying assets directly or conduct operations in foreign jurisdictions. In essence, we are witnessing the formation of a full-fledged bridge to the Western stock market amid ongoing restrictions.
Launch Structure and Underlying Assets
In the first stage, on September 8, trading in fixings for ten issuers will begin, including AMD, TSLA, APP, SNDK, COHR, NBIS, HOOD, AMZN, NFLX, and LITE. A week later, on September 15, ten more instruments will be added: COIN, CVNA, CRWD, DASH, PANW, SMCI, UBER, BSX, CMG, and LULU. Splitting the launch across two dates is a sensible step, allowing market participants to gradually adapt to the new contracts rather than mastering the entire volume at once.
The futures calculation mechanism is transparent: the quote reflects the value of the corresponding fixing in US dollars. Funding calculation parameters are set at 0% (K1) and 0.35% (K2), making the instruments predictable for algorithmic trading. Fixing calculations began on July 27, with the methodology based on the arithmetic mean of transaction prices for foreign assets on overseas exchanges. The value is updated every 15 seconds during the trading session, ensuring high accuracy and relevance of data.
Growing Demand and Platform Strategy
Interest in perpetual contracts on the Moscow Exchange demonstrates a steady upward trend. The open interest volume in perpetual futures has grown by 36% over the year, exceeding 450 billion rubles. Monthly, more than 60,000 clients trade such instruments—a figure that confirms the format's popularity not only among professional traders but also among retail investors.
In parallel, the platform is developing its cryptocurrency segment: in September, the first two perpetual futures on Bitcoin and Ethereum indices will launch. The exchange plans to expand its digital asset lineup to ten positions. Additionally, the Moscow Exchange is preparing the first listing of a SPAC company from the IT sector and is considering bringing Russian video game developers to the stock market by creating a specialized council for them.
Analyst Comment: Expanding the lineup of perpetual futures on US stocks is a logical response to structural demand from local investors seeking to diversify their portfolios. However, it is worth noting that instruments tied to foreign assets through fixings carry an additional risk of divergence from real exchange quotes during periods of high volatility. Nevertheless, for the market, this is unequivocally a positive signal, indicating the maturity and adaptability of Russian infrastructure.