18 August 2025

Digital Financial Assets (DFA) in Russia: Accounting, Circulation, and Taxation Guide

August 18, 2025

BRACE Law Firm ©

Digital financial assets (hereinafter also referred to as "DFA") represent an innovative tool that can significantly expand investment and asset management opportunities, as well as increase the transparency and security of financial operations. The accounting and circulation of DFA occur within special platforms that ensure interaction between issuers and investors. At the same time, the accounting and circulation of digital financial assets carry a number of legal risks.

In this article, we will consider the rules for accounting and circulation of DFA, the possibility of their use in settlements, the taxation of operations with DFA, and the legal risks associated with the accounting and circulation of digital financial assets.

As a reminder, in accordance with Article 1 of Federal Law No. 259-FZ of July 31, 2020, "On Digital Financial Assets, Digital Currency, and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation" (the "DFA Law"), DFA are understood as digital rights, including monetary claims, the possibility of exercising rights under emission securities, participation rights in the capital of a non-public joint-stock company, and the right to demand the transfer of emission securities, which are provided for by the decision to issue digital financial assets in the manner established by the DFA Law, and whose issuance, accounting, and circulation are possible only by making (changing) records in an information system based on a distributed ledger, as well as in other information systems.

Accounting for DFA in Information Systems

Digital financial assets are accounted for in the information system (the "IS") in which they are issued, in the form of records by methods established by the rules of the corresponding information system, which must contain (Article 5 of the DFA Law):

rules for making changes to the algorithm (algorithms) of the information system's software;
requirements for information system users;
rules for the issuance of digital financial assets;
rules for involving digital financial asset exchange operators, including requirements for said operators;
requirements for information protection and operational reliability;
methods for accounting for DFA in information systems, as well as making (changing) records about DFA;
rules for ensuring access of DFA holders to the IS;
the procedure for maintaining the registry of IS users;
rules for maintaining the registry of securities owners in the IS in case the IS Operator accounts for rights to shares of a non-public joint-stock company;
other provisions provided for by federal laws.

At the time of preparation of this article, the accounting and circulation of DFA are possible in 15 information systems, the operators of which are:

PJSC Sberbank;
LLC "Lighthouse";
JSC "ALFA-BANK";
LLC "Atomyze";
LLC "Distributed Ledger Systems";
LLC "Tokens";
JSC CB "EVROFINANCE MOSNARBANK";
PJSC "SPB Exchange";
LLC "Blockchain Hub";
Non-bank credit organization joint-stock company "National Settlement Depository";
JSC "T-Bank";
LLC "Tokenik";
LLC VTB Capital Trading;
JSC "Interregional Registrar Center";
LLC "BCS Company".

Access to the IS is provided in accordance with the rules of the corresponding IS, including the use of software and technical means that allow for the implementation of the IS operator's duties.

In this article, we consider DFA accounting using the example of the rules of one of the IS operators, which are posted on its official website.

In the information system of this operator, a user's wallet is opened automatically after registration is completed. A wallet is understood as a software and technical tool that is part of the IS and is intended for accounting for DFA and displaying information about the amount of the user's funds accounted for in a nominal account. Each wallet is assigned a unique identification number. It should be noted that a user may have only one wallet; opening additional wallets is not permitted. For a person holding a license to carry out depository activities, after registration for the purpose of segregating DFA belonging to their depositors from their own DFA, two wallets are opened – one for accounting for their own DFA, and one for accounting for the depositors' DFA.

After the occurrence of circumstances that are conditions for the execution of a particular transaction, a corresponding transaction is formed in the IS, i.e., an operation for the transfer of DFA, which is sent for confirmation by validation nodes – a virtual machine performing the functions of approving transactions, ordering, and (or) recording blocks of transactions in the IS within the general transaction confirmation process. Operations for transaction confirmation can be carried out by validation nodes continuously, regardless of weekends and holidays.

From the moment a transaction is confirmed, the transfer of DFA from one user to another is considered completed, and the record of the DFA transfer is considered entered into the IS.

If the platform's functionality does not allow users to independently perform a transaction, users have the right to send the IS Operator a request to perform such a transaction with a description of its content. Such requests can be sent in writing or using the technical means of the IS. The information system operator, within 5 (five) working days from the date of receipt of the request to perform a transaction, is obliged to consider the request and send the user a response indicating the procedure and conditions for performing such a transaction, as well as the procedure for sending an offer and acceptance to perform the transaction, or to inform of a refusal to provide the conclusion of the transaction if the content of said transaction contradicts legislation.

How Does the Circulation of Digital Financial Assets Occur?

The procedure for accounting and circulation of DFA is regulated by the DFA Law. According to Article 2 of the DFA Law, records of DFA are entered or changed upon the instruction of the person issuing the DFA, their holder, a nominal holder, or a foreign nominal holder of the DFA.

A holder of digital financial assets is recognized as a person who simultaneously meets the following criteria (Article 4 of the DFA Law):

the person is included in the registry of IS users;
the person has access to the IS by possessing a unique code necessary for such access, which allows them to receive information about the DFA they hold, as well as to dispose of these DFA through the use of the information system.

The person issuing the DFA is not entitled to refuse to fulfill the obligations certified by them, including if the DFA were acquired by a person not specified in the issuance decision and (or) not meeting the criteria established therein. Rights certified by DFA transfer to a new acquirer from the moment a record of such transfer is entered into the information system in accordance with the IS rules. A restriction or encumbrance on the right to dispose of DFA arises from the moment a record of this is entered into the IS (Article 4 of the DFA Law).

Grounds and Procedure for the Transfer of Rights to DFA

The transfer of rights to digital financial assets is carried out by virtue of the following grounds:

a contract between the parties, which may be concluded in electronic form using smart contracts;
inheritance, as rights to DFA can be transferred by inheritance in the manner established by legislation;
reorganization of a legal entity. In case of reorganization of a legal entity that is a DFA holder, the rights to them transfer to the successor;
execution of a judicial act. The transfer of rights to DFA can be carried out as part of the execution of a court decision.

The DFA Law provides for the possibility of transferring rights to DFA on other grounds provided for by federal laws.

The transfer of digital financial assets from one user to another in the operator's information system is carried out on the basis of transactions (purchase and sale, exchange, or another transaction related to DFA) involving the use of a smart contract, in case of the occurrence of circumstances that are conditions for the execution of such transactions. Under a smart contract in this operator's IS is understood a software tool that ensures the fulfillment of obligations under any transactions related to any types of DFA, as well as obligations arising in connection with the recognition of a DFA issue as failed, without a separately expressed additional expression of the parties' will directed at the fulfillment of such obligations, as well as the automated reflection of information on the facts of crediting and debiting of funds to a nominal account and their volume, in the form of corresponding records in user wallets during settlements.

In case of transfer of rights to digital financial assets by inheritance, for the purpose of transferring the DFA in the order of inheritance, the heir applies to the IS Operator and provides the following documents:

the original or a notarized copy of the certificate of the right to inheritance (remains with the IS Operator);
the original identity document of the heir;
the original or a notarized copy of a document confirming the rights of an authorized representative (if the heir acts through a representative);
the original or a notarized copy of an agreement on the division of inherited property (if available, remains with the IS Operator).

In case of the provision of an agreement on the division of inherited property, the IS Operator enters a record of the transfer in accordance with the quantity of DFA due to the heirs as specified in the agreement on the division of inherited property.

For the purpose of obtaining DFA by virtue of a judicial act, a person applies to the IS Operator and provides one of the following documents:

a copy of a judicial act that has entered into legal force, certified by the court;
an executive document;
a resolution of a bailiff or another official of the bailiff service.

When entering records of a DFA transfer based on a judicial act (including an act of an arbitration court), the presentation of an executive document is mandatory if its issuance is provided for in accordance with legislation for the corresponding type of judicial act.

Upon receipt of an executive document, the IS Operator fulfills the requirements contained in the executive document for debiting from the debtor user's wallet and crediting to the collector user's wallet the DFA, or issues a notification of full or partial non-fulfillment of said requirements due to the absence of DFA in the debtor user's wallet in a volume sufficient to satisfy the collector's requirements.

Upon reorganization, the legal entity to which the DFA are to be transferred must provide the following documents:

an extract from the transfer act on the transfer of DFA to one or more newly formed legal entities (for division and separation);
a copy of the reorganization agreement, certified in the established form (if available);
a document confirming the entry into the USRLE (Unified State Register of Legal Entities) of a record about the legal entity created as a result of reorganization (for merger, separation, division, transformation);
a document confirming the entry into the USRLE of a record about the termination of activity of the merged legal entity (for acquisition).
In the considered cases, the transfer of rights to DFA is carried out as follows:
the user's wallet on which the DFA to be debited are accounted for is transferred under the management of the IS Operator by issuing a temporary pair of public and private keys;
the IS Operator performs the transfer of DFA to the user's wallet to which they are to be credited using the temporary pair of public and private keys;
after successful completion of the transfer, management of the wallet is returned to the user by issuing a new pair of public and private keys.

The debiting and crediting of DFA are carried out no later than 1 (one) working day from the date the IS operator receives the corresponding request accompanied by all necessary documents.

If the new recipient of the DFA has not passed registration, the DFA may be credited to a nominal holder whose client such user is. If the new user has not passed registration and is not a client of a nominal holder, the DFA to be transferred are blocked by the IS Operator until registration or the conclusion of a corresponding contract with a nominal holder.

A record of the termination (redemption) of DFA is entered into the IS in the following cases:

if the person who issued the DFA becomes their holder;
upon termination of the obligations certified by the DFA in accordance with the issuance decision by virtue of their fulfillment;
on other grounds provided for by legislation or the decision to issue digital rights.

Upon the transfer of rights to DFA to the person who issued the DFA, the record of termination (redemption) is entered on a date determined in accordance with the issuance decision, if such decision establishes a period at the end of which the DFA transferred to their issuer are redeemed; however, in any case no later than the expiration of one year from the moment the DFA were credited to the wallet opened for the issuer, provided that such DFA were accounted for continuously on said wallet during the specified one-year period. The corresponding redemption record is entered on the day following the date on which the specified one-year period expires.

It is important to note that the DFA Law contains provisions according to which, in the specified case of termination (redemption) of rights to DFA, Article 413 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on the termination of an obligation by the coincidence of the debtor and creditor in one person does not apply.

Restrictions and Encumbrance of DFA

The fixation of the fact of DFA encumbrance is an operation as a result of which a record is entered establishing the DFA encumbrance, indicating that the DFA are encumbered. The record establishing the encumbrance is entered upon the instruction of the DFA holder. At the same time, the record establishing the encumbrance must contain an indication of the person in whose favor the encumbrance is established, as well as the grounds for entering such a record.

The fact of removal of a DFA encumbrance is fixed by entering a record containing information about the removal of the encumbrance. The corresponding record is entered by the DFA holder subject to the consent of the User in whose favor the encumbrance was established.

A restriction of operations with DFA in one of the information systems is an operation as a result of which a record is entered indicating that:

DFA operations are blocked due to the death of their holder;
DFA are under arrest;
DFA operations are restricted in accordance with the conditions of the issuance decision or by virtue of a contract (agreement) to which the IS user is a party;
DFA operations are suspended, prohibited, or blocked on the basis of legislation, another legal ground, or in other cases;
DFA operations are blocked due to a violation of Article 27 of Federal Law No. 86-FZ of July 10, 2002, On the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia), according to which the introduction of other monetary units and the issuance of money surrogates on the territory of Russia are prohibited.

A record of restriction is entered in relation to a specific quantity or all DFA accounted for in the user's wallet.

The record containing information about the restriction of operations with DFA is entered by the IS Operator following the review of documents provided to it.

Thus, a record of blocking operations on the testator's wallet is entered within 1 working day from the date of submission of one of the following documents:

the original or a notarized copy of the death certificate;
a notary's request for the requisition of information and documents on the user's wallet for formalizing inheritance, from which the fact of the user's death follows;
a court request for the provision of information on the user's wallet for considering a case related to inheritance, from which the fact of death follows;
a court decision recognizing the citizen as deceased.

A record of blocking (termination of blocking) of operations is entered on the date of submission on the basis of the following documents issued by authorized bodies of the executive or judicial branch:

a copy of a judicial act certified by the court;
an executive list or other executive documents certified by the bodies that issued them;
a resolution (requirement) of a bailiff;
a judge's resolution on the authorization of an arrest on property and a protocol on the arrest of DFA;
other documents provided for by legislation, which are issued by authorized bodies of the executive or judicial branch.

A record of the bailiff's arrest on the debtor's DFA does not prevent the performance of actions for their redemption, payment of income on them, or their exchange for other DFA, if such actions are provided for by the conditions of the issuance decision and are not prohibited by the resolution on the arrest of the corresponding DFA.

The removal of a restriction on operations with DFA is carried out in the following cases:

removal of an arrest from the DFA;
removal of restrictions on DFA operations in accordance with the conditions of the issuance decision or a contract (agreement) to which the user is a party;
removal of a prohibition or blocking of DFA operations in accordance with legislation or another legal ground.

The fact of removal of a restriction is fixed within 3 working days from the date of occurrence of one of the aforementioned events.

Procedure for Conducting DFA Transactions

Transactions are conducted in accordance with the transaction schedule. The IS Operator has the right to decide to conduct transactions on a weekend or a non-working holiday established in accordance with legislation.

An application submitted by a user for the purchase or sale of issued DFA contains:

the direction of the application (purchase, sale);
the type of application (initial or offer, counter or acceptance);
the application type (addressed, unaddressed);
the addressee(s) of the application (if the addressed type is selected);
information about the DFA being acquired or offered for sale (ticker identifier of the DFA, quantity of DFA being acquired or offered for sale or the procedure for its determination, purchase or sale price or the procedure for its determination);
the possibility or absence of the possibility of partial fulfillment of the application;
the validity period of the application during which counter-applications may be submitted in relation to this application (if the application is initial).

When exchanging DFA, in addition to the specified information, information on the DFA being accepted in exchange and proposed for exchange is also specified:

the ticker identifier of the DFA being accepted in exchange;
the quantity of DFA being accepted in exchange;
the ticker identifier of the DFA being proposed for exchange;
the quantity of DFA being proposed for exchange.

At any time, the user who submitted an application has the right to withdraw the submitted application in their personal account.

Mandatory use of a smart contract is provided for in the execution of transactions with DFA. Such transactions are executed in the IS automatically.

Is it Possible to Use DFA in Settlements?

It is prohibited to accept DFA as a means of payment or other counter-provision for transferred goods, performed works, rendered services, or any other method that allows for the assumption of DFA payment for goods (works, services); however, DFA may be used as counter-provision under foreign trade contracts (agreements) concluded between residents and non-residents that provide for the transfer of goods, performance of works, provision of services, and transfer of information and results of intellectual activity, including exclusive rights to them.

DFA open opportunities for mutual settlements within foreign economic activity, especially in conditions of sanctions pressure and limited access to traditional payment systems. The main tool ensuring such settlements is the use of blockchain technology, which guarantees transparency, security, and immutability of operations.

Participants in a foreign trade transaction – the Russian and foreign sides – must register on the platform of the operator that issues the digital assets. After this, the Russian buyer transfers DFA from their wallet to the foreign supplier's wallet. The transfer is performed within one platform, without the need to open bank accounts.

Platforms provide the possibility of transferring DFA in automatic mode with the help of a smart contract and linking it to the information in the personal account of the participant in foreign economic activity about the release of goods by customs.

Despite the advantages, the use of DFA within foreign economic activity is accompanied by a number of restrictions. One of the key problems is the isolation of DFA within the Russian legal and technological circuit. For settlements, only assets issued in Russian IS can be used, which makes them ineffective for international operations. Furthermore, foreign counterparties, as a rule, are reluctant to accept payment in assets that can be used exclusively within the Russian infrastructure, which reduces their interest in such a means of payment.

Russia proposed to BRICS participants, as well as to partners of the association, a mechanism for cross-border payments using digital financial assets issued by central banks, similar in type of emission and principle of circulation to tokens. It is assumed that this mechanism will function on the basis of the supranational platform BRICS Bridge. Potentially, this infrastructure can be used for conducting payments as an alternative to traditional settlements. At the same time, this is not about creating a single settlement tool for BRICS members, but about using modern technological solutions to simplify and improve settlement procedures.

Meanwhile, questions remain regarding the practical implementation of this initiative, given the need for coordination between various financial systems. For the successful use of DFA in international trade, further development of the technological base, increased market liquidity, and the creation of assets adapted to the needs of foreign economic activity are necessary.

VAT on DFA Transactions

In accordance with Article 149 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter – the "Tax Code"), the realization (as well as transfer, performance, or rendering for own needs) of DFA is not subject to taxation.

Also, separate services of IS Operators and DFA exchange operators are not subject to VAT:

assessment of the technical possibility of admitting DFA to circulation in the IS;
provision of access to their IS to users;
entering records and (or) changing records about DFA, including the completion of the transfer of rights certified by such DFA to a new holder;
conducting settlements related to the issuance of DFA, periodic payments on such DFA, as well as transactions with them, using nominal accounts opened by the IS Operator (including operations related to the transfer of funds and carried out through a nominal account);
identification of IS users by order of other IS Operators, as well as DFA exchange operators, except for the realization of consulting services and services for the provision of rights to use computer programs.

In addition, services rendered by IS Operators and DFA exchange operators are exempt from VAT, provided that such services are directly related to the issuance of DFA, their accounting, circulation, as well as redemption according to the list of services:

assigning a rating to the person attracting investment and (or) the investment proposal (in case the attraction of investment is carried out by purchasing DFA);
recognizing a person as a qualified investor for the purpose of conducting DFA transactions;
provision of information, reports, certificates, and extracts by the IS Operator or DFA exchange operator in connection with their respective activities;
conducting settlements without the use of nominal accounts related to the issuance of DFA, periodic payments, redemption, as well as transactions with them;
providing users with technical means for remote access to the IS.

Prepayment received for the upcoming transfer of DFA is not included in the VAT tax base (Article 154 of the Tax Code).

Please note that for the purposes of the Tax Code, DFA redemption is understood as an operation for the fulfillment of an obligation by the person who issued these DFA, as a result of which the record of these DFA in the IS is extinguished, by paying funds or transferring securities, goods, or other property in accordance with the conditions of the decision to issue these DFA.

Income Tax on Operations with Digital Financial Assets

With regard to income tax, the tax base for operations with DFA is determined collectively with operations with non-marketable securities – separately from the general base.

Funds received as payment for issued DFA are recognized as income according to Article 271 of the Tax Code. The date of accounting for income depends on whether redemption of such digital rights is assumed (and when) or not assumed:

if redemption is not assumed, income must be accounted for on the day payment is received;
if redemption is provided within 10 years or less, income must be accounted for on the redemption date;
if the redemption term is more than 10 years or is not determined, then income must be accounted for on the date of expiration of 10 years from the date of issuance of the rights.

In accordance with Article 272 of the Tax Code, expenses in the form of funds transferred as payment for DFA to the person who issued these DFA (with the exception of those DFA for which redemption is not assumed) are recognized on the date of redemption by the person who issued the DFA, or on the date of realization of these DFA by the taxpayer who is the first holder.

Funds transferred by the person who issued the DFA during their redemption are recognized as part of expenses on the date of redemption.

Expenses in the form of funds transferred as payment for DFA to the person who issued them, for which redemption is not assumed, but the issuance decision has determined a period after which the rights certified by these DFA terminate, are accounted for uniformly over said period from the date of acquisition to the date of termination of rights, unless realization of these digital financial assets or digital rights occurs earlier. If the period is not determined, these expenses are recognized on the date of DFA realization.

Article 265 of the Tax Code classifies funds due for payment by the taxpayer who is the person that issued the DFA (with the exception of payments related to their redemption), in accordance with the obligations provided for by the issuance decision for these DFA, as non-operating expenses.

The date of execution of such non-operating expenses is recognized as the date on which the person who issued the DFA incurs the obligations provided for by the issuance decision, for expenses in the form of funds due for payment to the holder of these DFA, in connection with the fulfillment of obligations not related to redemption (paragraph 7 of Article 272 of the Tax Code).

The amount of income from the realization of DFA must be accounted for for the purposes of profit taxation. Such income can be reduced by both the acquisition price of the DFA and the sum of expenses related to their acquisition and realization. When determining the tax base for operations with DFA, income (expenses) for all operations with these digital financial assets and (or) digital rights for the reporting (tax) period are taken into account (Articles 268, 282.2 of the Tax Code).

If a DFA holder receives goods (including emission securities) from their issuer (upon redemption), then in such case neither profit nor loss arises for the final DFA holder. At the same time, the cost of the goods (works, services, property rights) received by them is determined based on the acquisition price of such DFA and the amounts of VAT paid upon the acquisition of the DFA.

PIT upon DFA Circulation

If the holder (buyer) of the DFA is an individual, PIT is withheld upon payment of income to them.

Income from DFA operations is recognized as (Article 214.11 of the Tax Code):

payments not related to DFA redemption;
payments not related to DFA redemption in case the issuance decision provides for income payment in an amount equal to the amount of dividends received by the person who issued the DFA;
payments in cash form related to DFA redemption;
income from the alienation of DFA, including as a result of an exchange.

A tax agent for receiving income from DFA operations is recognized as (Article 226.2 of the Tax Code):

an IS operator or DFA exchange operator that pays the taxpayer income from DFA operations in cash and natural forms, provided that the income payment to the taxpayer is carried out through such tax agent;
a Russian organization, a foreign organization registered with the tax authorities, or an individual entrepreneur that pays the taxpayer income from DFA operations upon payment of income to the taxpayer;
a nominal holder of DFA upon payment of income from DFA operations to the taxpayer.

The person who issued the DFA, whose issuance decision provides for income payment in an amount equal to the amount of dividends received by such person, is obliged to bring information on the amount of dividends received and the tax rates applied to them to the tax agent's attention in one of the following forms:

an electronic document signed with an electronic signature;
a document on paper signed by an authorized person of the Russian organization that issued the digital financial assets.

When determining the tax base for DFA operations, the tax agent may, on the basis of the taxpayer's application, take into account actually incurred and documentary confirmed expenses for operations with the corresponding DFA that the taxpayer incurred without the participation of the tax agent.

Specified expenses include (paragraph 3 of Article 214.11 of the Tax Code):

expenses in the form of the cost of acquiring DFA, including monetary sums and other property (property rights) in the amount of expenses for their acquisition, paid (transferred) in payment for issued DFA or under transactions with them;
payment for services rendered by the IS Operator or DFA exchange operator;
documentary confirmed expenses of the testator (donor) for the acquisition of DFA, if such expenses were not taken into account by the testator (donor) for taxation purposes, in case the DFA were received by the taxpayer in the order of inheritance (donation);
sums from which tax was calculated and paid upon the acquisition (receipt) of DFA;
other expenses directly related to the acquisition, storage, alienation, and redemption of DFA, in particular sums for the payment of credit institution services (bank commissions), and expenses for the payment of services of nominal DFA holders.

Calculation of the tax amount is performed by the tax agent within the following timeframes:

at the end of the tax period;
before the expiration of the tax period;
before the expiration of the contract on the basis of which the tax agent pays the taxpayer income.

The tax agent withholds the calculated tax amount no later than 1 month from the earliest of the following dates:

the end date of the corresponding tax period;
the expiration date of the latest contract in terms of its commencement date on the basis of which the tax agent pays the taxpayer income in relation to which it is recognized as a tax agent;
the date of income payment in cash form;
the date of transfer of funds to the taxpayer's accounts or at their instruction to the accounts of third parties, including to the accounts of nominal holders.

Tax agents are obliged to transfer sums of calculated and withheld tax for the period from the 1st to the 22nd of the current month no later than the 28th of the current month, for the period from the 23rd to the last day of the current month – no later than the 5th of the next month, and for the period from December 23 to 31 – no later than the last working day of the current year.

If it is impossible to fully withhold the calculated tax amount, the tax agent determines the possibility of withholding the tax amount before the earliest of the following dates occurs:

1 month from the end date of the tax period in which the tax agent was unable to fully withhold the calculated tax amount;
the date of termination of the last contract concluded between the taxpayer and the tax agent under which the tax agent performed the tax calculation.

If it is impossible to fully or partially withhold the calculated tax amount from the taxpayer, the tax agent, within one month from the moment this circumstance arises, notifies the taxpayer and the tax authority at its place of registration in writing of the impossibility of said withholding and the amount of the taxpayer's debt. Tax payment in this case is carried out by the taxpayer on the basis of a tax notification for tax payment sent by the tax authority no later than December 1 of the year following the expired tax period (paragraph 6 of Article 228 of the Tax Code).

Legal Risks of Accounting and Circulation of Digital Financial Assets

DFA are high-risk assets; when carrying out operations with DFA, it is possible for events to occur that entail financial losses for their holder in connection with the realization of certain risks. DFA are not a bank deposit agreement; funds transferred in payment for DFA are not insured in accordance with Federal Law No. 177-FZ of December 23, 2003, "On Insurance of Deposits in Banks of the Russian Federation". In addition, there is no yield guarantee in relation to DFA; past investment results do not determine future income. The absence of proper analysis of investments in DFA can lead to the loss of all invested funds.

Please note that there is also a risk of non-fulfillment of obligations by the issuer. For example, upon recognition of the issuer as insolvent (bankrupt) or the imposition of restrictive measures, a situation arises in which there is no possibility not only to receive income but also to return one's own investment funds.

Risks of negative changes in legislation in the currency, tax, and customs spheres can also be noted. Acquirers of DFA bear risks of imperfection or negative changes in legislation in the sphere of issuance, accounting, and circulation of DFA.

In addition, the following risks can be highlighted:

the risk of direct or indirect losses due to IS malfunctions, as well as errors related to the imperfection of the DFA market infrastructure, transaction technologies, management procedures, accounting and control, due to errors and unfair actions of employees and third parties, and as a result of external events;
the risk of loss of funds invested in DFA related to third parties gaining access to the DFA holder's personal account.

How to Protect the Rights of a DFA Owner in Case of Violation of DFA Accounting and Circulation?

The DFA Law provides for guarantees for their holders. Thus, the operator of DFA information systems is obliged, in accordance with civil legislation, to compensate users of said information system for losses that arose as a result of:

loss of information stored in the IS about the volume of DFA belonging to their holders and (or) about the DFA holders themselves;
a failure in the operation of information technologies and technical means of the IS;
providing IS users with unreliable, incomplete, and (or) misleading information about the IS, the rules of its operation, and the IS Operator;
violation of the IS rules of operation, including violation of requirements for the continuity and consistency of its functioning;
non-compliance of the IS with the requirements of the DFA Law.

In case of a failure in the operation of information technologies and technical means of the IS, the operator is also obliged to perform the user's actions whose implementation was hindered by such a failure.

The DFA Law also established guarantees for qualified investors in case they were unlawfully recognized as such but had already performed transactions with DFA available only to qualified investors (Article 6 of the DFA Law). In such case, the operator is obliged to buy back the unlawfully acquired DFA or that part of them beyond the established limit and to compensate for all incurred expenses. Similar rules apply in case of an erroneously performed transaction with DFA by an unqualified investor. A statement of claim in specified cases can be filed within 1 year from the date of DFA acquisition. At the same time, the considered rules can only be applied in the absence of abuse on the part of the investor. If the status of a qualified investor was obtained by providing unreliable information, then these consequences do not apply.

The Bank of Russia issued a directive which regulates the requirements for data transfer from one operator to another in case of any problems with one of the operators:

the registry of information system users whose operator was an information system operator excluded from the registry of operators;
information system databases whose operator was an information system operator excluded from the registry of operators, containing information on operations with digital financial assets;
information system database management systems whose operator was an information system operator excluded from the registry of operators, containing information on operations with digital financial assets.

The IS Operator must transfer to another operator of another IS summarized information and keys for its decryption (in case the summarized information is protected by cryptographic protection means) in a way that excludes the possibility of unlawful or accidental access to the summarized information (decryption keys), its destruction, modification, blocking, copying, provision, dissemination of the summarized information (decryption keys), as well as the commission of other unlawful actions in relation to the summarized information (decryption keys). When transferring summarized information, measures must be taken to ensure its integrity and safety.

In this article, we have considered the procedure for accounting and circulation of DFA using the example of one of the IS, the possibility of using DFA in international settlements, and factors restraining the possibility of such settlements. In addition, we considered the procedure for taxation regarding VAT, income tax, and PIT.

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Footnotes

LLC "Atomyze".
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