Digital Assets in Investment Management: A First-of-Its-Kind Deal on the A-Token Platform
Alfa-Bank and Alfa Capital Management Company have completed Russia's first transaction to transfer digital financial assets (DFAs) into investment management.
The transaction, executed on the A-Token platform, demonstrated both a new way to manage digital assets and the readiness of the underlying infrastructure to support it. This creates an opportunity for professional investment firms to develop new financial products based on DFAs for their clients.
The Foundation Is in Place
The project establishes the legal and technological framework for bringing new participants into the digital asset market, including asset management companies and brokerage firms.
“Now they can gain hands-on experience using digital assets to build investment strategies. That will allow them to broaden the range of investment options they offer clients and expand digital channels for executing transactions,” said Denis Dodon, Alfa-Bank's Director of Innovation.
The groundwork for this development was laid by the Law on Digital Currencies and Digital Rights, which took effect two and a half months ago. Before the law was enacted, DFAs were tied to the information system operator's platform on which they had been issued. They can now be issued directly to identifier addresses administered by a digital depository and transferred between platforms.
As a result, DFAs are becoming a fully fledged asset class that established players in the traditional financial sector can work with. For banks, this opens up new channels for investment services. Asset management companies, meanwhile, gain additional tools to diversify their strategies and improve returns on client portfolios. Alfa Capital is already planning to include digital assets in its mutual funds.
The Market Is Ready for New Solutions
Moving DFAs into investment management is creating demand for upgrades to financial IT infrastructure. Until recently, developers of enterprise systems focused on keeping token records in isolated systems. Now, blockchain platforms will need to integrate seamlessly with conventional custody, accounting and investment infrastructure. This shift is driving demand for automated digital asset recordkeeping systems and specialized risk management modules that can operate at the intersection of traditional compliance frameworks and distributed ledgers.
Bringing the infrastructure for digital assets closer to that of traditional financial markets will inevitably require standardized reporting, clearing and settlement procedures. The Central Bank of Russia will have to develop new regulations to support that transition.
From the First Registries to a Trillion-Ruble Market
Just five years ago, it would have been difficult to imagine this trajectory for Russia's then-nascent DFA market. In 2022, Atomize became the first company added to the registry of information system operators (ISOs) authorized to issue digital financial assets. By the end of 2023, the registry included nine organizations, among them Alfa-Bank, which had launched its A-Token platform. The number of platforms gradually grew, as did the number of DFA issuances and the total volume of assets placed.
In 2025, DFAs were used to raise 1.7 trillion rubles (about $20.6 billion) for the economy. At that point, the market's cumulative volume over four years stood at approximately 2.3 trillion rubles (about $27.8 billion). In just the first six months of 2026, however, the figure had already exceeded 2 trillion rubles (about $24.2 billion). The Central Bank's registry now lists 25 information system operators. In September, a law on digital rights took effect, expanding the ways these assets can circulate and opening the market to professional intermediaries.
Structured Products and a New Class of Investors
The institutionalization of DFAs is expected to broaden the range of investment products available. Alfa-Bank and Alfa Capital have already outlined plans to create structured products and unit investment funds that combine digital assets with traditional financial instruments.
Tokenization could also improve liquidity for complex corporate loans and project financing. Individual investors stand to benefit as well. Access to digital assets through professional managers lowers the barrier to entry and removes the need for investors to independently assess the appeal of individual issuances or the creditworthiness of their issuers.
