Digital Financial Assets Are Fueling the Creative Economy
The film My Taiga Holidays raised 5 million rubles (about $60,000) for post-production through the Tokion platform. The project combines mixed production technologies and is scheduled for theatrical release in March this year.
Backing Creative Industries
The first feature film with talking animals shot in Russia’s Far East is set to reach audiences soon. The screenplay for Moi Taezhnye Kanikuly (My Taiga Holidays) is based on works by front-line writer Timofey Smetanin and Yakov Struchkov, an honored teacher of the Yakut ASSR. Filming took place in the Amginsky, Abyysky, and Kobyaysky districts of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Investors backed the project via the digital financial assets issuance platform Tokion, an operator registered with the Bank of Russia. In less than a month, the film raised roughly 5 million rubles (around $60,000).
The project was enabled by a cooperation agreement between PSB Bank, the Tokion platform (part of the PSB Group), and the Far East and Arctic Development Corporation, signed in September 2025 at the Eastern Economic Forum. The agreement provides support for creative industry players in the Far East as they prepare and issue digital financial assets to attract investment. The issuer of the DFAs is Reengineering of Investment Technologies LLC, with the Innovation Development Fund of the Republic of Sakha acting as the transaction guarantor. The film is set for release at the end of March, with investor payouts planned for April.
Tokenizing Creative Assets
Vyacheslav Zavalin, acting director of the territorial development department at the Far East and Arctic Development Corporation, said the successful issuance of the first creative DFAs in the Far East confirms both interest from creative industries in new fintech tools and demand from investors. Tokion, he noted, is among the leaders in Russia’s digital financial assets market, serving clients across banking, fintech, real estate, and leasing.
“It is also important to factor in the short fundraising period – less than a month, which included the New Year holidays. Going forward, the key task is fine-tuning support measures, operating within a unified strategy for developing the creative DFA market, and supporting issuers from the creative economy. Systematic work in this area will also be reflected in the macro-level indicators of the region,” Zavalin said.
The project mirrors a global trend toward integrating digital financial instruments, specifically asset tokenization, into the entertainment industry. In Russia, this is the first regional-level case where film production financing was implemented through DFAs. The model opens the door to new forms of investment in the creative economy outside major hubs such as Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Through projects like this, investors gain access to regional cultural initiatives and can help accelerate sector growth. Additional investment acts as a catalyst for regional film production and for the adoption of new technological approaches.
Rethinking the Creative Economy
Russia is developing mechanisms to capitalize its creative economy through digital investment. Over time, this is likely to strengthen the role of domestic fintech tools and expand the use of DFAs for other creative projects – including films, TV series, music, and animation. Successful pilots can be replicated by other regions using platforms registered with the Bank of Russia.
Moi Taezhnye Kanikuly demonstrates the effectiveness of digital financial assets as an alternative investment channel for regional creative production. Modern fintech tools are integrating into the creative economy, expanding the Far East’s financial infrastructure. The involvement of institutional partners reduces risk for investors. In the coming years, the emergence of new specialized platforms and services for creative industries is likely, alongside a growing role for DFAs in business development.
