The total value of digital financial assets (DFA) in Russia has reached RUR 684 bln ($7.7 bln) since the first issue in June 2022, according to a Sber report.
Most of the tokens issued are debt-based financial instruments, but there is an increasing number of index-based and hybrid digital instruments on the Russian market today, the study says.
The report noted a continued lack of connectivity between the platforms provided by the designated information system operators for the issue of digital instruments. Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina pointed this out last summer, stressing that it was important to create a seamless and centralized environment where digital financial instruments could be purchased through a one-stop-shop service regardless of the platform they were issued on. However, these plans have not materialized yet.
“There is another sticking point, in addition to the lack of a common information field and a single framework for investing in DFAs issued on different platforms. Along with this repeatedly mentioned problem, brokers are not interested in recommending their clients to invest in digital instruments, because in the current system, investors are required to withdraw their funds from their brokers’ accounts before they can purchase tokens. Naturally, brokers are not particularly enthusiastic about doing something that excludes them from the process,” explains Professor Artem Genkin, CEO of Consulting & Analytical Union.