19:52, 20 November 2025

Vadim Sushko: “Russia Is Improving Its Legislation on Digital Assets

Russian experts discuss the development of a law on digital-asset inheritance

Russia’s digital-asset sector is rapidly evolving. According to Sber, the volume of digital-asset placements reached about $7.8 billion in just the first eight months of 2025 — more than during the entire year of 2024. New products and instruments continue to emerge, and the legal framework needs to keep pace.

Speaking to IT RUSSIA, Vadim Sushko, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Public Initiatives Agency (ANO “Agenstvo Obshchestvennykh Initsiativ”), explained that Russia must now create conditions that will help preserve and attract digital assets into its jurisdiction, as well as develop norms that would guarantee the possibility of transferring such assets by inheritance.

“The Russian Federation is one of the countries using advanced technologies and actively developing digital assets. Since 2020, legislative initiatives related to digital assets and their use have begun to appear and take shape. In particular, in 2020 the Federal Law ‘On Digital Financial Assets, Digital Currency, and Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation’ was adopted,” he noted.

According to Sushko, the document was refined last year and will continue to evolve, which indicates that it is a “living” and highly relevant law.

“Within the professional community, there is active discussion around simplifying the procedures for registering and accounting for digital assets. At industry events, lawmakers, lawyers, and other stakeholders are becoming more aware of new technologies, their applications, and the approaches required for legally supporting transactions involving them,” Sushko emphasized.

He added that many lawyers and attorneys now recognize the potential of digital technologies as a major long-term trend and understand that their continued development and widespread adoption are inevitable — though concerns about legal risks remain.

“Working with digital assets presents serious challenges for lawmakers. It requires flexibility, readiness to learn, and the ability to adapt the regulatory framework quickly. For instance, registering a domain name in Russia is formally governed by a service-provision contract. Services, however, are not included in the inheritance mass. Some domain registrars, seeking a fair solution, may offer an additional agreement that transfers administrative rights. This practice needs to scale,” he explained.

Sushko is confident that enabling the transfer of any digital asset — including domain names and other intangible digital property — by inheritance will directly contribute to building Russia’s national inheritance capital.

“Ensuring stability in civil turnover and legality in relationships involving digital assets, protecting property rights, and guaranteeing secure participation in digital transactions is becoming a top priority,” Sushko concluded.

Digital economy