Russia’s Tokenization Breakthrough: Foreign Investors Gain Access to Domestic Shares Through Digital Assets

Central Bank's digital pivot opens Russian markets to global capital flows

Tokenization Revolution Unlocks $2 Trillion Market

Russia's financial gates swing wide as tokenization technology bypasses traditional investment barriers. The Central Bank's latest move converts domestic shares into digital tokens—foreign money now flows where sanctions once blocked.

Digital Bridges Replace Broken Banking Channels

Blockchain infrastructure cuts through geopolitical red tape. International investors access Moscow's blue-chips without touching legacy banking systems. The ruble's digital transformation accelerates while traditional finance scrambles to catch up.

Global Capital Meets Local Compliance

Smart contracts enforce regulatory boundaries while moving billions. Foreign ownership limits remain intact—just managed by code instead of paperwork. Russian companies gain liquidity without losing control.

Traditional banks watch another revenue stream evaporate into the blockchain—proving once again that innovation moves faster than bureaucracy.

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.”