NFT needs regulation to develop
ANO "Digital Economy" held a round table "Regulation of non-fungible tokens (NFT) and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO)". Senior expert of the Center for Strategic Research (CSR) Dmitry Fedorov, one of the authors of the report "Virtual Assets: NFTs and Virtual Items in Computer Games and Metaverses", which analyzed the existing foreign practice of regulating NFTs and made proposals for amending Russian legislation, concluded that that the proposals made in the report were not heeded.
The normative acts that are already in force and are in the final stage of their passage do not solve the tasks at hand. For example, the Central Bank considers it possible to use NFT to fix rights, but it is not clear how to use these rules for individuals. As a result, problems with the authors of works - composers, artists, writers - are not solved. Some of the proposed regulations simply conflict with established practice. For example, the rule about the impossibility of changing a tokenized object after the sale simply will not work if we are talking about game characters or game items. At the same time, there are no mechanisms to protect bona fide purchasers.
As for the DAO, their Russian legislation suggests that they be considered a simple partnership, the participants of which are jointly and severally liable with all their property. This creates very high risks for potential participants. Accordingly, it is necessary to work out the issues of responsibility of the participants.
Soslan Gabuev, Deputy Director of the Digital Economy Development Department of the Ministry of Economic Development, agreed that NFT should not be identified with cryptocurrency or other digital assets. He also drew attention to the protection of the rights of copyright holders. As for the regulation of the work of DAOs, according to the representative of the Ministry of Economic Development, mechanisms are needed similar to those that exist in limited liability companies.
According to the partner, the head of the tax practice of O2 Consulting Tatiana Safonova, the regulation of the turnover of digital assets is proceeding in the same way as the development of the regulation of traditional ones. The primary task is to classify digital assets as objects of taxation. In the meantime, if such assets are reflected in the tax code, they are far from being fully reflected. And in general, the sooner this area is regulated and the more competently it is done, the better.
Anatoly Kozlachkov, vice-president of the Association of Banks of Russia, called NFT one of the forms of material objects that exist in the form of a code. At the same time, it is impossible to come up with a formal definition. On the other hand, regulation is necessary. According to Anatoly Kozlachkov, if cryptocurrencies had been legalized before February of this year, many difficulties with cross-border payments would have been avoided. There would also be much fewer cases in courts related to fraud in the field of cryptocurrency circulation. Now only about 50 cases a year reach the court.
Artist Artem Tkach expressed his willingness to work within the framework of the law. However, he drew attention to a number of difficulties associated with the anonymity of blockchain tools, including NFTs. As a result, the turnover of these assets will be difficult to control. And in general, the lack of regulation does not hinder the development of the market.
Maxim Bashkatov, head of the "Legal development" section of the Center for Strategic Development, also called the lack of regulation the main obstacle to development. No bank will lend to a project that is in the gray zone. We need at least control loops.
Partner, head of O2 Consulting FinTech practice Daria Nosova called NFT a nightmare for a lawyer. This is a complex tool where you can include almost everything. Therefore, there is a risk that regulation simply will not work. It is necessary to focus on the already established scenarios. Daria Nosova also suggested using experimental legal regimes and regulatory sandboxes.
However, Maxim Bashkatov drew attention to the fact that the use of an experimental legal regime would not solve the problems, moreover, it would create new ones related to interaction with the outside world, and would attract unnecessary attention of regulators represented by the FAS. In addition, there are no fundamentally new risks, we are talking about protection from well-known problems like "don't let them collect money and run away." This means that there is no need to invent anything new.
