Digital financial assets as a business financing tool

The article presents the findings of the research, which identify the current trends in the development of the digital financial assets market. This has the potential to open up opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses to attract new sources of financing for their activities. The proliferation of digital technologies has facilitated the advent of numerous innovations, which have accelerated operational processes and enhanced the accessibility of financial services. In the context of the current functioning of the Russian economy, the search for new sources of financing for commercial enterprises represents an urgent task. The necessity for this is particularly acute for small and medium-sized businesses, for which the principal source of financing – bank loans – has become prohibitively expensive, while the process of entering the stock market is lengthy and costly. Concurrently, the increasing involvement of institutional and private investors has given rise to a necessity for the development of novel financial instruments within the capital market. The analysis of the characteristics of digital financial assets as a source of business financing corroborates the hypothesis that the active introduction of this instrument into the activities of Russian small and medium-sized companies is a prudent course of action. In light of the pressing need to finance the transformation of the Russian economy, it is imperative that the Bank of Russia prioritise the issuance of digital financial assets.