Submit token: Russia and Belarus conducted the first transactions in CFA
Russia has conducted the first cross-border transactions in digital financial assets (DFAs) with Belarus and other countries, Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma's Financial Markets Committee, told Izvestia. The instrument is an analog of securities on some asset with a certain maturity, which are issued on the blockchain. The method of settlement in the CFA is unique, because such transactions cannot be tracked by unfriendly countries, which have only been tightening sanctions for three years. The State Duma plans to adjust legislation to facilitate transactions with CFA. For example, it is necessary to adjust tax and customs aspects when using them for settlements, experts said. Why the new payment method is so important for Belarusians and Russians - in the material of "Izvestia.
What is CFA and how cross-border transactions with them are developing
Russia conducted the first cross-border transactions in CFA with Belarus and a number of other friendly countries, told "Izvestia" the head of the State Duma committee on financial market. Anatoly Aksakov did not name other states. The volumes of these transactions are not very large, but CFAs have already become an effective tool for international transactions, the deputy emphasized.
According to him, one of the main advantages is that such transactions are not controlled by unfriendly countries and cannot be monitored by them. The new tool solves many problems, including those related to the sanctions actions of the West, Anatoly Aksakov noted. Most of the largest Russian banks are already disconnected from SWIFT, and blocking US sanctions are being imposed against all new players, because of which they cannot conduct transactions in dollars.
Digital financial assets are rights to a certain type of property (e.g. precious metals, real estate, exchange-traded commodities) that can be traded on the market. In fact, it is a security secured by real property and has a maturity date, explained Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global. What distinguishes it from traditional instruments is that these assets (digital tokens) are issued on the basis of distributed ledger technology - blockchain.
CFA is now being considered as an alternative to traditional settlements with other countries under sanctions, emphasized Alexei Tarapovsky, founder of Anderida Financial Group. According to him, it is primarily about large-scale deliveries involving systemically important enterprises. The fact is that this method allows making payments without the participation of banks, which may refuse to work with Russia.
The Russian and Belarusian parties have indeed made settlements using CFA on foreign trade contracts, confirmed the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of the Russian Federation, Sergei Katyrin.
- The legislation on CFA began to be formed in Russia in 2020. Belarus was the first to finalize the entire regulatory framework, thanks to which their CFA is functioning well: they already have exchanges, brokers and other infrastructure," said Yulia Khandoshko, CEO of the European broker Mind Money (formerly Cerich).
Russia aims to develop innovative and alternative ways of cross-border settlements, so cooperation and testing of such instruments with Belarus looks promising, said Alexei Tarapovsky from Anderida Financial Group. In addition, trade turnover between the countries is constantly growing, and the more tools for payments will be available, the higher the probability of their continuity.
In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that trade turnover between the countries for nine months increased by 8%, exceeding $37 billion. At the same time, the republic retains leadership in the supply of livestock products to Russia - the new instrument will also make it possible to easily make payments for the array of goods that come from this country.
Sergey Katyrin, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, believes that Russia's experience in developing the digital asset market can be useful to friendly countries. In his opinion, it is worth building bilateral relations between the platforms on which CFAs are issued and traded in different countries. However, this will require resolving many legal and technical nuances.
Regulation of CFAs - taxes, platforms and infrastructure
The use of CFAs will gain momentum - Anatoly Aksakov is confident that this instrument is the future. The State Duma is also planning to adjust legislation to facilitate transactions with digital financial assets, the deputy said. However, he did not disclose the details.
The main difficulty now is that the current legislation recognizes as legal only CFAs that are created and accounted for within the Russian financial infrastructure, said Natalia Milchakova from Freedom Finance Global. In her opinion, all such tokens should be legalized in Russia, even those issued in other countries.
Now foreign companies that agree to accept digital assets from Russian business will be closed within the financial circuit of the Russian Federation, explained Alexei Tarapovsky from Anderida Financial Group.
For such a transaction, the foreign counterparty must register on the Russian platform, since there is no technical infrastructure for international CFA settlements (for example, at the level of interstate associations with the participation of the Russian Federation), added Anna Sotnikova, a lawyer in the tax practice of CLS. According to her, this may not be suitable for everyone, because at least it requires additional costs.
In addition, there are still difficulties with the tax aspects of using the CFA, the lawyer noted. She explained: the current taxation regime covers the regulation of CFA as an independent investment instrument (issuance and purchase of assets). However, when using such tokens as a means of payment, the current rules are quite narrow.
For example, the same requirements should be set for CFAs as for digital currencies for international transactions in the pilot regime.
In addition, the issue of assessing and confirming the customs value of goods delivered under a transaction using CFA remains unresolved, Anna Sotnikova added.
Nevertheless, friendly countries are interested in developing this settlement tool and investing in the Russian market, said Ekaterina Ledokol, a member of the Moscow regional branch of Business Russia and president of the Data Processing Centers Association. According to her, that is why the State Duma is discussing additions to the Federal Law "On Digital Financial Assets". This should be followed by actions of the Central Bank to regulate the accounting of such foreign CFAs on the balance sheet of companies and other requirements of the regulator to their turnover.
In 2024, the total volume of CFA placement amounted to more than 370 billion rubles, recalled Anastasia Prikladova, Associate Professor of the Department of International Business at Plekhanov Russian Economic University. She added: the largest operator of the information system was Alfa Bank (more than 177 billion rubles of placement), followed by Masterchain (more than 82 billion), NSD closed the top three (about 15 billion). "Izvestia" sent an inquiry to information system operators about the development of cross-border transactions with CFA.
In 2025, this instrument will develop, says Natalia Milchakova of Freedom Finance Global. In her opinion, CFA settlements will also become more in demand than last year.
Almost no one believes in the quick lifting of sanctions, so now bets are being placed on digital financial assets, agreed Alexei Tarapovsky of Anderida Financial Group. According to him, they may replace conventional payments as early as 5-10 years from now.
