Digitized Giving: How DFAs Are Becoming a Tool for Charity
Russia is testing a new model of philanthropy where financial technology meets social impact – and blockchain ensures donations reach their destination with full transparency.
Ingosstrakh and the Lucky Foundation have launched a pilot project to issue charitable digital financial assets aimed at supporting children without parental care. Blockchain technology provides a 100% guarantee that donations are directed strictly to their intended purpose.
Digital financial assets (DFAs) represent investor rights to an underlying asset. Russia adopted legislation regulating them back in 2020. By early 2026, the total volume of DFAs in circulation had reached 690 billion rubles (approximately $7.5 billion), growing by 150% over the past year alone. These instruments offer flexibility for issuers and can be applied across sectors depending on use case, serving as an alternative to traditional securities and cryptocurrencies.
DFAs Not for Profit
Today, corporate social responsibility has evolved into a fully integrated management practice embedded in business operations. One example is Ingosstrakh, which is bringing DFAs into charitable use through its Ingo Ecosystem platform, allowing subscribers to transfer funds to foundations instantly. The pilot is being carried out in partnership with the Lucky Foundation.
These digital assets are not designed to generate returns. Buyers effectively direct funds to children without parental care. Blockchain technology ensures that the money is delivered strictly to the foundation’s statutory programs.
For Ingosstrakh, this is not new territory. The company first applied DFAs to charitable initiatives in 2025, demonstrating how existing DFA infrastructure can be used not only for capital raising and quasi-debt instruments but also for social support. Blockchain-based infrastructure operates within a regulated environment, ensuring transparency in how donations are handled.
If the pilot proves successful, charitable giving in Russia could gain an innovative tool with fully traceable fund flows, while digital technologies may help strengthen trust across the social sector.
A Promising Use Case
Looking ahead, charitable DFAs could become a distinct niche for large foundations, corporate CSR programs, museums, and cultural institutions. According to the Central Bank, companies issued DFAs worth 1.65 trillion rubles (about $18 billion) in 2025, while the number of information system operators rose to 19. However, roughly 98% of DFAs issued between 2023 and 2025 were debt instruments comparable to bonds, meaning social tokenization still represents only a small share.
Regulators note that the market is expanding in terms of infrastructure, creating more flexible conditions for social-sector applications. For companies, these instruments often serve as a way to promote products and increase customer engagement. At the same time, buyers shift from being simple consumers to becoming participants in funding.
Through this experiment, Ingosstrakh could create a ready-to-deploy model for banking and investment apps, where users gain access to a convenient digital tool for charitable giving with fewer intermediaries and administrative barriers. Large charitable foundations and nonprofits could adopt this approach for targeted fundraising.
From Animal Welfare to Art
Russia’s legal framework for DFAs was established in 2020 through Federal Law No. 259 “On Digital Financial Assets,” which simplified access to financing for businesses. The core idea was to make it easier for issuers and investors to enter financial markets.
By 2024, DFAs began to appear in non-traditional investment scenarios. For example, the Voskhod Foundation created a new niche by becoming the first issuer of venture DFAs, raising 83.5 million rubles (around $900,000) through a digital asset issuance on the Atomize platform. Returns are distributed among investors via smart contracts.
In 2025, the Lucky Foundation, Ingosstrakh Investments, and Ingosstrakh introduced a case of DFAs used for public benefit, deliberately foregoing returns in favor of donations to children in need.
Similar tools have also been adopted by T-Bank, which launched charitable DFAs to support homeless animals. Together with the “Helping Hand for Homeless Animals” foundation, T-Investments used DFAs to attract funding for the construction of a social veterinary center in Penza. In addition, T-Bank, together with the Hermitage Museum and Interros, issued digital assets to support museum art.
The Future of Digital Philanthropy
DFAs are emerging as a viable alternative to bonds and are steadily gaining traction. In 2025, total DFA issuance reached 1.65 trillion rubles (around $18 billion). As regulation and infrastructure continue to evolve, the Russian DFA market is exploring applications beyond traditional corporate debt. While still not yet mainstream, these instruments allow fintech to monetize not only financial returns but also trust by embedding themselves into culture and charitable activities.
If such use cases gain clearer tax and legal frameworks, become integrated into banking interfaces, and grow more accessible to users, DFAs could evolve into a distinct segment of “digital philanthropy” within Russia’s fintech ecosystem.
