Optionality and Mandatory Nature in the Contractual Circulation of Digital (Virtual) Assets: The Russian Model and the Experience of the Republic of Azerbaijan

The article examines the extent to which the participants in the circulation of digital (virtual) assets may determine on their own the content of the contractual relationships and where the law justifiably limits their autonomy. The analysis is based on Federal Law No. 282-FZ of August 4, 2026 “On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights”, the civil and electronic commerce legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Resolution No. 2-P of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of January 20, 2026, recent case law and the experience of the regulatory sandbox of the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan. It is shown that in the digital environment, the will of the parties is expressed not only in the text of the agreement but also in the choice of interface, algorithm, and channel of performance, and that a smart contract is a means of concluding or performing a contract rather than a source of obligations. Four forms of mandatory regulation are distinguished, and a test for the admissibility of mandatory intervention is proposed. The author concludes that a model of “regulated contractual autonomy”, in which the freely determined economic core of the contract surrounded by a minimal mandatory protective perimeter is needed.