In the first nine months of 2024, there were 470 issuances of digital financial assets (DFA) with a total volume of approximately 316 billion rubles. This was reported by RBC, citing a report from the rating agency Expert RA.
According to analysts, over 98% of DFA issuances were simple monetary claims. Meanwhile, the average maturity period halved from the previous year to 123 days.
The share of DFAs with a fixed annual rate increased from 39% to 82%, while the percentage of products linked to the Bank of Russia’s key rate decreased from 53% to 16%. Analysts attribute this to nearly 70% of issuances being concentrated in the three largest issuing banks:
- Alfa-Bank — 34%;
- VTB — 22%;
- Sberbank — 13%.
The report explains that DFAs issued by banks may be perceived by investors as deposit equivalents, and similar conditions influence the demand for new products.
The volume of secondary DFA trading amounted to about 3 billion rubles during the period studied. Market participants believe the main constraint in the segment remains the low liquidity of the products.
Nevertheless, issuers are optimistic and expect that by the end of 2024, the volume of DFA issuance will exceed 500 billion rubles, and in 2025 it will approach 1 trillion rubles.
Previously, analysts predicted that the digital financial assets market could grow to 500 billion rubles within three years.
Currently, 11 companies in Russia hold licenses to issue DFAs: Atomyze, Lighthouse, Sberbank, Alfa-Bank, Masterchain, Eurofinance Mosnarbank, Tokeon, SPB Exchange, Blockchain Hub, the National Settlement Depository, and T-Bank (formerly Tinkoff).
Back in June, plans were revealed for the Central Bank to extend currency control to token operations. Separately, the regulator will prepare a mechanism for legislative segregation of DFAs.