Russia’s Central Bank wants to use tokenization solutions to grant foreign buyers access to shares in domestic companies.
The Russian media outlet RBC reported that domestic industry insiders say the blockchain-powered solution would be “feasible and attractive to foreign investors.”
Vladimir Chistyukhin, the First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank, spoke about the matter on the sidelines of a recent financial forum.
When asked about the tokenization of Russian shares, the Central Bank executive responded with a positive response, calling it a “possible option.”
Russia’s Central Bank: Tokenization Could Help Firms Evade Sanctions
However, Chistyukhin suggested that overseas players would need to provide technical and platform-based solutions. He said:
“In this area, foreign partners will be playing a significant role. I am talking about the foreign entities who are willing to tokenize Russian assets in order to buy and sell them abroad.”
Chistyukhin’s comments come hot on the heels of a proposal from Sergei Shvetsov, the head of the Moscow Exchange’s Supervisory Board.
In late September this year, Shvetsov said that overseas investors want to buy Russian shares. And he said that tokenization would help them do so, as the solution does not make use of “sanctioned infrastructure.”
Shvetsov went on to explain that decision-makers in Moscow have been openly talking about the tokenization of Russian shares.
The exchange appears to believe that traditional finance-powered solutions tend to make use of “sanctioned infrastructure and sanctioned intermediaries and brokers.”
These, he said, were “unfortunately common in Russia today.” Tokenization, he added, was one of several possible workarounds under consideration.
Russian Experts Back Plans
RBC quoted an official from the Russian banking group Sovcombank as voicing support for the plan.
The Sovcombank official said that tokenization “could become a suitable tool for investors” from investors in BRICS countries or “friendly jurisdictions like the UAE, Kazakhstan, or Armenia.”
In the long term, the official added, tokenization could “accelerate the Russian market’s integration into the global digital financial system.”
Alexey Korolenko, the Executive Director of Cifra Markets, concurred. He said that tokenization would allow traders with limited capital to buy fractions of stocks with a high market value per share.
Korolenko added that the real-world assets (RWAs) sector is now going “mainstream,” and is now “in high demand among investors.”
He concluded that the idea of tokenizing Russian shares was “entirely feasible.” But Korolenko warned that Moscow must ensure that providers meet reliability requirements “for the entire ownership and tokenization chain.”
Experts also said regulators would need to consider infrastructure and liquidity matters, as well as possible “political risks.”
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