The MOEX, formally the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange, recently introduced a Bitcoin index. So what? It’s too easy to dismiss this as just another example of a nation-state testing the waters of the crypto world. Look closer. Is this truly a better embrace of digital assets, or just the much more insidious dark side? Is this really what we want—we’re just inviting the fox to come sit in the henhouse, right?

Data Collection Disguised as Innovation?

Think about it. The index aggregates data from all major exchanges including Binance, Bybit, OKX, and Bitget. Volume weighted, revised quarterly. Sounds technical, right? What if the ultimate objective is collecting robust, detailed transaction-level data on all global Bitcoin trading activity. Information is power, and in the digital currency age, data is the new oil.

This is not only a matter of giving people a benchmark they can use to evaluate the value. It's about surveillance on a grand scale. We’re not being paranoid here, but we are discussing an unprecedented form of global intelligence-gathering operation, shrewdly masked as a future financial innovation. Have we become so enamored by the promise of mainstream adoption that we’re losing the forest through the trees.

  • Map global Bitcoin flows.
  • Identify key players in the crypto market.
  • Potentially even predict market movements.

The index is already being described as a move to bring Bitcoin under the legal umbrella in Russia. Okay, fine. But then what happens when Russia begins to use this index to forge a path for harsher regulatory regimes?

Regulation by Indexation?

Think about the domino effect. If Russia’s able to argue that the index shows widespread and severe market manipulation (even if it’s overstating the case), the other countries will not be far behind. Now, all at once, we’re getting pummeled with a storm of hostile regulations—each one “validated” by the data extracted from this otherwise harmless-looking index.

It's regulation by indexation. An insidious, veiled attempt to centralize and regulate the competitive crypto landscape under the false pretense of investor protection. We’ve witnessed governments use “national security” as a catchall justification to implement, and justify, overstepping policies that infringe upon civil liberties. Is “market stability” going to be the crypto overreach catchphrase of 2023?

The MOEX becoming a "recognized organizer of trade and a benchmark." Sounds good for Russia, perhaps. What about the rest of us?

A New Iron Curtain for Crypto?

What if this index goes on to form the backbone for building out a splinternet of crypto? Suppose instead that Russia develops its own self-contained crypto financial network. It is not subject to global market forces, and it has its own internal rules. A different kind of iron curtain, but this time, it’s a blockchain curtain.

This isn’t just about Russia. It’s about the precedent it sets. If Moscow is able to successfully wall off its crypto market, other countries will likely be encouraged to follow suit. The potential for an inclusive, interoperable and borderless financial system that we’ve been led to believe is imminent would be lost.

Those are the right questions to be asking. Keep an eye out for anything that could undermine true progress under the shiny veneer of inclusion. Perhaps the most poisonous adversaries do so with present in hand. This index is more than just Bitcoin. It is the future of crypto, but will that future be one of freedom or control, goodness or evil? Be skeptical. Be vigilant. The stakes are much, much greater than you realize.

  • Is convenience worth the risk?
  • Are we willing to trade freedom for perceived security?
  • Who truly benefits from this index?

This isn’t purely bad financial news. It is a terrible sign of things to come and a canary in the coal mine. Are you listening?

This isn't just financial news; it's a canary in the coal mine. Are you listening?