Country _ Name
Russia
SectionTitle
Crowdfunding/crowdinvesting/crowdlending
Body
FinTechs belonging to this category operate crowdfunding, crowdinvesting and crowdlending platforms on which money is raised to invest in various projects, mainly start-up companies and real estate projects.

Crowdfunding is not a defined financial service, but generally used to describe donation-based crowdfunding (the investor donates the money to the project), reward-based crowdfunding (the investor receives an often symbolic consideration for his investment), equity-based crowdfunding (crowdinvesting: the investor participates in the profits of the financed project or acquires shares or debt instruments) or lending-based crowdfunding (crowdlending: the investor is reimbursed at the end of the project with or without interest).

Introduction

Attitude of the country towards crowdfunding, crowdinvesting and crowdlending platforms

The Russian crowdfunding market has begun to take shape at the beginning of 2010. In 2020, a federal law regulating these legal relations came into force. Currently in Russia investing using investment platforms is carried out in the following ways: by providing loans (crowdlending), by purchasing equity securities (crowdinvesting), by acquiring utilitarian digital rights and by purchasing digital financial assets. In this case, utilitarian digital rights mean the following rights, which initially arose in the form of digital rights on the basis of an agreement concluded through an investment platform: the right to demand the transfer of a thing (things); the right to demand the transfer of exclusive rights to intellectual property and (or) the rights to use intellectual property; the right to demand the performance of work and (or) provision of services.

Digital financial assets are recognized as digital rights that include monetary claims, the ability to exercise rights related to securities, rights to participate in the capital of a non-public joint-stock company, the right to demand the transfer of securities, the turnover of which is carried out by making (changing) entries in an information system based on a distributed ledger, as well as in other information systems.


Legal affairs

Obligations and requirements to provide crowdfunding, crowdinvesting and crowdlending platforms described above

The relations arising in connection with crowdfunding (including crowdlending and crowdinvesting) are regulated by the Federal Law of 02.08.2019 No. 259-FZ "On Attraction of Investments with the Use of Investment Platforms and on Amending Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation". This law also defines the legal basis for the activities of investment platform operators, regulates the emergence and circulation of utility digital rights provided for by this law, as well as the issuance and circulation of securities certifying utility digital rights.

The above-mentioned law establishes specific requirements for the operator of an investment platform. In particular, the operator's capital shall be at least 5 million rubles. The operator of an investment platform is not allowed to engage in activities not provided for by this law. The operator is required to approve an internal document on managing conflicts of interest, as well as disclose information about identified conflicts and measures taken to manage them. In certain cases specified by law, such individuals are held responsible for losses incurred. However, the operator of an investment platform is not liable for the obligations of individuals attracting investments.

The law also establishes the maximum amount of investments that can be attracted by one individual within one calendar year – not exceeding 1 billion rubles. However, this limitation does not apply to public joint-stock companies attracting investments through the acquisition by investors of utility digital rights and / or digital financial assets.

Additional comments regarding the legal situation for crowdfunding, crowdinvesting and crowdlending platforms or what FinTech’s must be aware of in this business area

N/A


Economic conditions

Market size for crowdfunding, crowdinvesting and crowdlending platforms and biggest companies in this business area

As of March 3, 2024 84 organizations were entered into the register of operators of investment platforms of the Bank of Russia (17 organizations were included in the register in 2023, 6 in Q 1 2024, 4 were excluded in 2023), of which 64 organizations operate. The volume of the crowdfunding market in 2023 amounted to 33.4 billion rubles, in Q 1 2024 - 11.1 billion rubles. By the end of 2023, the volume of funds raised by crowdlending amounted to 27.5 billion rubles, or more than 82% of the total crowdfunding market (63% a year earlier). The volume of funds raised by crowdinvesting in 2023 amounted to 5.9 billion rubles (18% of the volume of the crowdfunding market in 2023) and 2.4 billion rubles in Q 1 2024. Investing by purchasing securities is offered by 24 platforms, of which 8 combine crowdinvesting activities with crowdlanding, and another 9 with registrar activities.

Additional comments regarding the economic situation for crowdfunding, crowdinvesting and crowdlending platforms or what FinTech’s must be aware of in this business area

N/A



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