Russia's Famous Hermitage Museum Negotiates with Binance to Issue NFTs

The world-renowned State Hermitage Museum in Russia is holding talks with Binance, the leading cryptocurrency exchange on the issuance and sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for works of art from its rich collection. 

The Hermitage Museum hopes to use the NFTs to attract additional funding. However, it remains unclear whether the tokens fall under the existing regulations. Marina Tsyguleva, head of the museum’s legal department, said that this type of token may be taken out of the scope of the digital assets regulations. The law "On Digital Financial Assets," the main piece of legislation regulating the Russian crypto space right now, went into force on Jan. 1, 2021, but it does not cover all aspects of the crypto sphere.

Crypto experts and even Russian lawmakers agree that the digital assets law's definitions need to be clarified and refined. It currently allows the issuance and circulation of tokens, as well as security tokens, utility tokens, and stablecoins.

Tsyguleva further explained that the cultural institution can only sell non-exclusive rights to its works of art. This creates certain difficulties when entering the NFT market but does not rule out the possibility completely. The NFTs can be used to raise funds for restoration projects, for example, the museum's representative added.

The Hermitage Museum plans to hold Russia's first art exhibition of NFT tokens, according to an announcement released earlier this year, which will be organized as part of the "Hermitage 20/21" project.