The Bank of Russia says it will turn Russian company shares into digital tokens so people outside the country are able to buy them. The aim is to bring more buyers and sellers to deepen the market. Foreign owners already face sanctions and Russian rules that push them out, and international funds, Russian companies and digital-trading sites all have a stake in the plan.
The Bank of Russia calls tokenization a way to take a paper ownership right and turn it into a digital record on a shared database. The bank says this step will let more people trade the right and will deepen the market.
There will be a three-year test window in which only “qualified” investors may trade such tokens, a sign that the door will open only part way.
Politics and law get in the way. A U.S. Treasury note from February 2022 freezes much of the Bank of Russia’s own money held abroad, and Russian law now lets firms force foreign owners to sell their stock back at a low price.
The keys to the Bank of Russia and tokenization
In April 2024, mobile phone operator MTS told foreign holders to sell their shares back at thirty one cents on the dollar. Grocery chain Magnit did the same at roughly half price — some holders lost sixty five percent. The Bank of Russia report quotes its own words: “Both Russia and other countries show rising interest in turning standard assets into tokens.” In plain speech, it means you receive a digital coin that stands for a real share.
The next step is the three year test for vetted investors. If the test goes ahead, the market will learn whether tokens bring fresh money into Russia or stay a narrow tool hemmed in by law and politics.
