Binary Options Trading in Russia

Russia is the largest country by land mass in the world and sits on significant deposits of crude oil and natural gas. The country’s wealth has seen it rise from the recession of the early 90s into a haven which is populated by a large population of wealthy and middle class people.

Quite a good number of Russians and Russian-speaking people in Ukraine, Israel and other countries are trading derivative instruments, including binary options.

So what is the state of binary trading in Russia?

Binary options trading in Russia is an activity which has assumed major importance for a number of reasons. Firstly, there is a large population of Russian investors in trading hubs such as Cyprus and London where many binary options companies are located. Secondly, Russia’s influence in Europe is expanding, with an increase in the middle class and the number of wealthy persons.

Best Brokers in Russia

Binary options trading in Russia is not prohibited, but the lack of local brokers means that this can only be done with offshore brokers. Look for a regulated broker which accepts Russian citizens and offers methods of transaction which are favourable to Russian citizens. When you find such a broker, proceed to open an account directly from the website of that broker.

We have compiled a list of brokers that will enable you trade binary options in Russia. These are brokers with good track records, no history of scam operations and carry valid operational licenses, issued by their country’s regulators. Here they are:

Regulation

The regulation of binary options in Russia as well as other financial markets in the country is complex. On the government end, the financial markets were regulated by the Federal Financial Markets from 2004 until it was disbanded by an official decree in 2013. The functions of this defunct agency have now been transferred to the Central Bank of Russia (CBR).

There are also two industry self-regulating agencies. These are:

• Centre for Regulation in OTC Financial Instruments and Technologies (CRFIN), which has changed its name in 2016 to the National Association of Forex Dealers (NAFD) with Alexander Lyuvovich as the Chairman of the Board. Membership of this board is pulled from representatives of the biggest financial market brokers in Russia.
• The Commission for the regulation of relations on the financial market (KROUFR), which maintains and regular updates a blacklist of unregulated market brokers in and out of Russia.

Both agencies have signed a collaborative agreement to help each other in strengthening forex and OTC derivatives market regulation in Russia.

Before 2014, there was no law guiding the trading of derivative instruments in Russia. Regulation by the government agencies was restricted to the country’s stock markets. With the deeper penetration of forex and binary options, it became necessary to enact new laws to enable the proper supervision of the market and its operators.

The new law, signed by President Vladimir Putin in 2014, however provided for regulation of the forex market, leaving binary options in the cold. Some notable binary brokers of Russian origin such as Dragon Options and Profit Group, have cut their ties with binary options in Russia. Dragon Options appears to have sold its business to Rainbow FX, and Profit Group has decided to focus exclusively on forex and dropped its binary options product.

What this means is that effectively, Russia has no local binary brokerage company. Anyone who wants to trade binary options in Russia has to make do with the services of offshore brokers. Cyprus seems to be a beneficiary of this, and many Russians are trading with Cypriot binary brokers. Many of these brokers provide Russian language services to cater to the Russian market.

Deposit Methods Available for Binary Options in Russia

Binary options brokers offering services to Russian citizens realize that it is essential that these traders have ease of transactions whenever they want to make deposits into their trading accounts or effect withdrawals. The following transaction methods are available to these traders:

• Bank wires: Russians are able to use bank wires to perform transactions on platforms. However, due to the economic sanctions imposed on Russia, some countries no longer do business with some Russian banks. Therefore, you need to confirm from your local bank as well as your broker if it is possible to use your bank account to perform transactions.
• Digital wallets: The use of local digital wallets has made it easy to make deposits and perform withdrawals. There are local digital wallets, specifically meant for Russian citizens, and which are being offered by several brokers. These include Yandex.Money and Qiwi.
• Card Options: A TNS Survey showed that 62% of Russians made digital wallet payments, and most of these were done using Yandex.Money. To leverage on this, Yandex.Money has issued a special debit card to its users. This card links to the local bank account and also the Yandex.Money digital wallet of the user. This is a good option to use in transacting with binary options brokers.

FAQ

• Is it legal to trade binaries in Russia?

Yes. While it is not illegal in Russia, there is presently no regulation for the product within the country. Most Russian traders carry out their business with offshore brokers.

• Are binaries regulated in Russia?

No. There is officially no regulation of in Russia.

• How to trade binaries in Russia?

Presently, there are no local brokers in Russia as the two most popular local brokers have quit binary options for forex. In order to trade in Russia, you must first open a trading account with an offshore broker. There is no information as to whether there are local introducing brokers in Russia which are representing offshore firms.