According to Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the Financial Market Committee of the Russian State Duma, the first digital financial assets based on Russian blockchains may appear this year, Bitcoin.com writes.

Speaking at the Moscow Academic Economic Forum, Aksakov noted that active work is now underway in this area following the adoption of the law “On Digital Financial Assets,” which comes into effect in January 2021, and authorized Russian blockchain platforms could issue their first digital financial assets by the end of this year.

According to Aksenov, 3 platforms developed by Norilsk Nickel’s subsidiary Transmashholding, as well as Sberbank, have already been registered as CFA issuers. Another 2 will be approved in the near future.

The deputy believes that these CFAs will be used for financial settlements and as settlement units in economic relations with partners and subsidiaries. “This is, to a certain extent, an alternative to those financial settlements that exist today on the basis of the dollar, euro or other currencies,” he specified.

Aksakov stressed that the government supports the legalization of the digital asset market through strict regulation and has prepared for this purpose a new bill “On Digital Currency” drafted by the Ministry of Finance, which has yet to be submitted to the State Duma. This bill should expand the legal framework for the sector, which has only partially been regulated by the law “On Digital Financial Assets.”

But while the Russian Ministry of Finance is in favor of regulating cryptocurrencies on a par with other digital assets, the Central Bank of Russia remains opposed to their legalization in the country.