On December 5, Antonina Levashenko, Head of International Best Practices Analysis Department at the Gaidar Institute, took part in the conference “Digital ruble and digital financial assets”, organized by Russia’s Foundation for Educational Programs “Economy and Management.”
The expert tackled the latest trends in cryptocurrency and digital financial assets.
The first trend is the institutionalization of digital finance. According to Levashenko, interest in digital finance has grown in recent years among traditional financial institutions and investors, with derivatives and exchange-traded products on crypto assets (such as Bitcoin futures) launched in many countries.
The second trend is associated with the development of decentralized finance (DeFi). Antonina Levashenko noted that the volume of funds placed in such protocols has already reached hundreds of USD billions, with institutional investors accounting for a significant portion of transactions. She also added that Russia is among the countries with high DeFi user activity.
The third trend, the expert identified, is the growing role of stablecoins. Today, their total supply exceeds $180 bn, with the two largest stablecoins accounting for almost 70% of the market. Stablecoins are used primarily for cryptocurrency market transactions such as trading, lending and borrowing. A number of countries, including the US, are already introducing special regulatory regimes for their issuers.