Digital Financial Assets in the System of Debt Financial Instruments

The article deals with the issues related to the definition of the legal position of digital financial assets in the system of Russian debt financial instruments, taking into account international practice. The aim of the research is to determine the legal position of digital financial assets and the possibility of their inclusion in the system of debt financial instruments. The objectives of the research, the solution of which allowed the authors to achieve the said aim, were the following: to study the international experience of legal regulation of distributed ledger technologies; to determine the legal nature, identify the key distinguishing features of digital financial assets and compare this institution with other instruments of financing. Research methods: functional legal method, normative method, comparative method, theoretical legal method, axiological method and others. Based on the functional objectives of this institution, as well as the analysis of foreign experience, the authors conclude that it is reasonable to include digital financial assets in the system of debt financial instruments, provided that they are separated into an independent subsystem, including both digital financial instruments that have the legal nature of securities and other financial instruments. The authors believe that the complexity of the system of digital financial assets and their technological peculiarities should be decisive in the formation of effective legal regulation of digital financial assets.