Putin signs law on digital ruble, giving Russian central bank digital currency green light -TGN

Russian president Vladimir Putin officially signed a bill that will introduce a digital version of the country’s national currency.

The move gives legal authority to the Bank of Russiathe country’s central bank, to act as a platform operator for the digital ruble, according to an official document.

Under the newly signed law, the central bank of Russia will be responsible for managing the digital ruble accounts.

They will also be the main operator of the digital ruble infrastructure and be responsible for all stored assets.

The digital ruble will act as a new form of payment, alongside cash and non-cash rubles.

The bill allows the Bank of Russia to begin testing the CBDC from August 1.

In a rackgovernor of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina stressed that it is not mandatory for Russian citizens to have the CBDC.

Rather, individuals will have the freedom to choose whether to use the digital ruble or not.

Nabiullina expressed her hope that the digital ruble would be more convenient and cost-effective for individuals and businesses alike, presenting a new opportunity.

Russia boosts CBDC development amid Western sanctions

Russia has been discussing the idea of ​​a digital ruble for several years now. However, the concept received a lot of attention after the imposition of sanctions by the United States and its allies.

These circumstances created a sense of urgency to launch the CBDC, which led to the rapid passage of the bill in both houses of the Russian parliament – the State Duma and the Federation Council.

The Bank of Russia has been working on the development of the digital ruble for some time now.

In 2020, they released an analytical report on the subject, with feedback from Russian banks and other financial market participants.

Pilot tests were conducted in February 2022 with several banks in the country.

However, the outbreak of war in Ukraine further emphasized the need to introduce the digital ruble as a means of mitigating the effects of Western sanctions.

Aside from Russia, 21 other countries have also launched pilot programs for CBDCs, according to the Atlantic Council’s CBDC tracker.

The tracker shows that 130 countries, representing 98% of global GDP, are currently exploring a CBDC, while 19 of the G20 countries are at an advanced stage of their CBDC development.

A total of 11 countries have fully launched a CBDC, including China, The Bahamas, Niger, Anguilla, Jamaicaand seven Eastern Caribbean to land.

It is worth noting that the United States is one of the few countries that has no confirmed plans to launch a digital currency.

However, the country has still moved forward with a wholesale (bank-to-bank) CBDC.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the response to G7 sanctions, developments in wholesale CBDC have doubled. There are currently 12 cross-border CBDC wholesale projects.