VTB plans to create a digital depository in Russia for the storage, accounting, and circulation of digital financial assets, including cryptocurrency. Andrey Yatskov, head of the brokerage services department at VTB Bank, spoke about the preparation of the service.
What Are DFAs and Who Operates in This Market
Digital financial assets, or DFAs, in this context act as a digital form of investment instruments: they are issued and accounted for in information systems, and transactions with them must take place within a regulated framework.
The chain usually involves issuers, information system operators, investors, and depositories. Issuers release DFAs, operators provide the technological platform, investors buy or sell assets, and depositories are responsible for the storage and accounting of rights.
The Bank Awaits Regulatory Framework for Launch
VTB is preparing to obtain the status of a digital depository and intends to bring the new service to market after the necessary regulatory rules appear. Andrey Yatskov noted that the bank expects to be among the first Russian players to offer clients the purchase and sale of cryptocurrency within a regulated infrastructure.
VTB Bank is already on the register of information system operators issuing digital financial assets. For VTB My Investments clients, this framework may become a familiar way to work with new instruments, alongside which securities, bonds, and other investment products already exist in the market.
How DFA Transactions May Be Conducted
For the client, the basic scheme looks like this: select an available digital asset, submit an application to buy or sell through a participant in the regulated infrastructure, and then see the transaction recorded. Settlements for such transactions must follow the platform’s rules and regulatory requirements.
Relationships between DFA market participants should be based on the law regulating cryptocurrency, as well as rules for operators, crypto exchanges, and digital depositories. Among the discussed formats are DFAs pegged to cryptocurrency, including bitcoin.
T-Bank Also Prepares Digital Depository
The T-Bank group previously announced plans to create a digital depository. Vyacheslav Tsyganov, executive director of T-Technologies, said at the Bank of Russia Financial Congress that the group already has a digital financial asset project pegged to bitcoin.
This project includes automatic market making and provides for the possibility of physical storage of cryptocurrency. Like VTB, T-Bank expects to be among the first digital depositories in Russia.
What Needs to Change in the Market
The launch of a regulated crypto market is expected after the adoption of the law on cryptocurrency regulation. The State Duma is currently considering the document. It provides for the emergence of crypto exchanges and digital depositories that will be able to operate under established rules.
In this model, asset accounting, personal data protection, and a clear storage infrastructure are especially important. For financial organizations, this is not only a technological task: any asset (accounting) requires correct reflection, and transactions with digital instruments must be transparent for the client and the regulator.
According to Interfax, citing RBC, the interest of major banks in digital depositories is increasing amid the preparation of the legal framework. If the law is adopted, Russia will receive a regulated framework for operations with cryptocurrency and digital financial assets.
