Legal Issues of Intermediary Activities in the Digital Assets Market

Abstract

Decentralized finance is often perceived as an alternative to the securities market, which does not require the participation of intermediaries; however, their participation can significantly facilitate the functioning of the crypto-asset market, among other things. This is especially relevant for the Russian digital financial assets market, which is built following a model very similar to the traditional securities market. At the same time, there are currently a significant number of legal obstacles to the functioning of intermediaries in the digital financial assets market. The paper examines some ways to build the infrastructure of the digital financial assets market and proposes changes to the regulatory framework that will help achieve this goal. Legislative barriers to the functioning of intermediaries in the digital financial assets market have been identified. A conclusion is made about the possibility of building an infrastructure of intermediaries in the digital financial assets market by bringing together the regulation and legal regime of digital financial assets and uncertificated securities.