Russia’s First Digital Financial Assets Expected This Year, Lawmaker Says

The first digital financial assets based on the Russian blockchain could be released as early as this year, a high-ranking deputy said. Anatoly Aksakov, who heads the Committee on Financial Markets in the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, said that three platforms have already been registered as issuers.

Digital financial assets in Russia are likely to appear by the end of the year

According to Anatoly Aksakov, head of the parliamentary committee overseeing Russia’s financial sector, authorized Russian blockchain platforms could issue the first digital financial assets (DFAs) by the end of 2022.

Speaking at the Moscow Scientific and Economic Forum, Aksakov noted that Russia is now actively working in this area after the adoption of the law “On Digital Financial Assets,” which came into force in January 2021. CFA is the legal term that covers cryptocurrencies in the current Russian legislation.

Russian representatives reported that three platforms developed by a subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel, Transmash Holding and Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, have already been registered as DFA issuers. Two more companies are expected to be approved in the near future. Aksakov was quoted by Russian media as follows.

We expect that perhaps as early as this year the first digital financial assets will be issued, which will gradually become the basis for financial payments on the blockchain.

The IG believes that these OFDs will be used as units of account in financial settlements and in economic relationships with partners and subsidiaries. This will, to some extent, replace those financial settlements that exist today based on dollars, euros and other currencies,” he specified.

Anatoly Aksakov stressed that the Russian government is in favor of legalizing the digital asset market through strict regulation and is preparing new legislation for this purpose. He referred to the law “On digital currency” developed by the Ministry of Finance, which has not yet been submitted to the State Duma.

Russia is stepping up efforts to adopt rules in the field of digital assets, and this bill should expand the legal framework in this area, which was only partially regulated by the Law on Digital Financial Assets. The Ministry of Finance is in favor of regulating cryptocurrencies along with other digital assets, while the Central Bank of Russia is still against their legalization in the country.

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