The Bank of Russia has stated that it is expecting to rollout the digital ruble which is the central bank digital currency (CBDC) of the nation in about two years from now.
The Bank of Russia will start connecting all banks and credit institutions to the digital ruble network in 2024, according to the most recent monetary policy statement from the institution.
Since Russia is anticipated to hold presidential elections in March 2024 and incumbent President Vladimir Putin has the constitutional right to run for reelection, that would be a significant year for Russia.
The central bank anticipates finishing customer-to-customer “real money” transaction trials, as well as testing customer-to-business and business-to-customer settlements, by that point.
The Bank of Russia also plans to beta test digital ruble-based smart contracts for transactions by a small group of participants in 2023.
The bank made it clear that it intends to move through with the CBDC roll out gradually, opening up fresh, distinct experiments and features year after year.
The digital ruble will also support consumer-to-government, business-to-government, government-to-government, government-to-consumer, and government-to-business payments as soon as the Federal Treasury is ready, according to the Bank of Russia.
In addition, the central bank anticipates integrating non-bank financial intermediaries, financial platforms, and exchange infrastructure by 2025, along with the offline mode for the digital ruble.
The Bank of Russia stated that the “phased introduction of the digital ruble will provide market participants the opportunity to adapt to new conditions.”
In order to conduct cross-border and foreign currency operations using digital currencies, the Bank of Russia will also collaborate with other central banks to create their own digital currencies, the authorities said.
As previously reported, following the introduction of its official CBDC roadmap last year, Russia launched its first CBDC testing in February 2022. Twelve banks were selected by the Bank of Russia to test the digital ruble, including well-known institutions like Sber, VTB, Tinkoff Bank, and others.
While following the CBDC deployment schedule, Russia has lagged somewhat in its attempts to regulate the cryptocurrency market. Before Russia adopted its crypto law “On Digital Financial Assets,” President Putin pushed for its adoption numerous times.
However, little changed as a result because the bill still lacks major regulatory elements including crypto mining, taxation, and other important ones.
