The test issue, amounting to 16,200 rubles, provided buyers with the opportunity to obtain green certificates by purchasing hybrid digital rights. These green certificates help commercial consumers establish an eco-friendly image and reduce their products’ carbon footprint. The issuer of this test issue was Carbon Zero, a company responsible for maintaining the register of “green” certificates.
“Through the successful pilot placement of hybrid digital rights, we have gained confidence in the St. Petersburg Exchange’s ability to support the issuance and circulation of such innovative financial products,” affirmed Evgeny Serdyukov, the General Director of the St. Petersburg Exchange.
This marks the fifth instance of state digital procurement in the Russian market. Previously, the Atomize platform and Alfa-Bank released two state-produced programs each. However, these digital financial assets have not gained widespread popularity, partly due to the continued imposition of VAT, as noted by Roman Nekrasov, co-founder of the ENCRY Foundation.
“Unless there are significant changes, the market can expect only a small number of successful issuances of hybrid digital rights this year,” Nekrasov predicts.
Towards the end of last year, it emerged that participants in the Russian digital financial market consistently faced challenges in attracting investors, particularly from the retail sector. Additionally, market participants have not observed a substantial level of competition among issuers.
Alfa Bank recently revealed its plans to introduce hybrid digital rights for the trading of physical gold. The inaugural transaction has already been completed on the A-Token digital financial assets platform.