St. Petersburg Exchange plans to launch digital financial assets platform

MOSCOW. Aug 14 (Interfax) - The St. Petersburg Exchange is now in the process of acquiring "information system operator" status, which will allow it act as a platform for the issue of digital financial assets (DFAs), the exchange said on Telegram.

"This new direction will allow the exchange to expand the range of the services it provides. Thanks to this, it will be able to offer in tokenized form categories of traded goods which it is initially difficult to imagine in an order book, as well as to concentrate on customizing the products offered to match the needs of each of our clients," managing director of the exchange Maxim Yeltsov is quoted as saying in the message.

In entering the DFA market, the exchange will have the opportunity to launch a range of financial instruments aimed at raising funds for existing and new clients or optimizing their financial flows, the exchange wrote.

The St. Petersburg Exchange is Russia's largest commodity exchange, facilitating 99% of the country's organized trading in oil, petroleum products, petrochemicals, gas, coal, timber, metals, construction materials, agricultural produce and mineral fertilizers.

DFAs are digital equivalents of securities. They are issued as records in an information system based on a distributed registry (tokens) and confirm the investor's rights to an asset.

Earlier on Thursday, the Central Bank of Russia took the decision to add two new participants to the register of operators through which DFAs can be issued - Sinara Bank and Madrigal Information System Operator. Currently, the register contains 15 participants: the platforms of T-Bank , VTB bank, MRC, Tokenik, Tokeon PSB , the platform of Sberbank , Alfa-Bank, BCS Holding, Eurofinance Mosnarbank, NSD, Atomyze, Masterchain company, fintech company Lighthouse, SPB Exchange and MTS subsidiary Blockchain Hub.