Mandatory audit of issuers of digital financial assets: a regulatory gap and ways to eliminate it

The article is devoted to the problem of regulatory asymmetry between the classic bond market and the digital financial assets (DFAs) market in terms of requirements for auditing issuers' financial statements. The paper substantiates the thesis that DFAs issuers, having the opportunity to attract funds from a wide range of investors, in particular, individuals, including unqualified ones, are exempt from mandatory audit, whereas for bond issuers this procedure is an absolute requirement. Based on the analysis of the dynamics of the Russian DFAs market, data from the Bank of Russia on the level of financial literacy of investors and the level of average DFAs profitability in the Russian market, the author concludes that the existing yield spread does not compensate investors for the lack of an independent assessment of the issuer's financial health. A differentiated model for the introduction of mandatory auditing for DFAs issuers is proposed, taking into account the volume of the issue and the category of investors. The article is addressed to researchers in the field of financial law, audit and regulation of digital assets.