Russia Is to Explore Global Trading of Digital Financial Assets on Public Blockchains

The Bank of Russia has proposed allowing digital financial assets to circulate in public blockchain networks. The regulator plans to prepare a legal framework for such a mechanism by the summer.

According to Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, the technology could be used for cross-border settlements and for attracting investment from abroad. At present, Russian companies issue DFAs only on domestic platforms, and most investors are based in Russia. The new model would allow those assets to be issued in international blockchain networks.

Once the mechanism is introduced, Russian DFAs could circulate on major crypto exchanges and decentralized finance platforms. That would give businesses access to global cryptocurrency liquidity. In practice, companies would gain the ability to raise funds from international investors without traditional financial intermediaries. Transactions would be executed through smart contracts that automatically enforce the terms of the deal.

The Market Is Growing

In recent years, the market for DFAs in Russia has expanded many times over. According to Denis Astafyev, its volume grew from 44 billion rubles ($~480 million) in 2023 to 1.5 trillion rubles ($~16 billion) by the end of 2025.

For now, most issuances consist of short-term debt instruments. Many businesses use them as a quick way to raise financing.

Analysts at Freedom Finance Global estimate that if key legal and technological issues are resolved, the DFA market in Russia could reach 12–13 trillion rubles ($~130–140 billion) by 2030—almost ten times its current size.