Digital ruble

The digital ruble (Russian: Цифровой рубль) is a central bank digital currency (CBDC), developed by the Bank of Russia, the third form of Russian national currency in addition to the already existing cash and non-cash forms of money. All forms of the ruble will be equivalent to each other.

The digital ruble will be issued by the Bank of Russia in digital form and will combine the properties of cash and non-cash rubles.^[2]

The official launch date of the digital ruble was August 15, 2023.^[3][4]

In the wake of the development of cryptocurrencies, in October 2017, a draft government resolution was prepared on the technological implementation of the creation of a “cryptoruble”.^[5]

In October 2020, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation delivered a report on the creation of the Digital Currency of the Central Bank. It was emphasized that the Central Bank will not become a cryptocurrency, since it will be centrally issued by the Bank of Russia, which will become a guarantor of the security of settlements. Units of ruble numbers are distinctive signs of a digital code. The central bank must combine the function of non-cash and cash - it can be implemented both remotely and through an offline wallet; The digital ruble will be converted into cash and non-cash at the rate of 1:1. The report presents 4 possible models for implementing the circulation of the Central Bank of Securities, depending on who, how and to whom the wallets and several calculations are provided. At the same time, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov estimated the timeliness of introducing the foreign exchange ruble at 3-7 years.^[6]

In April 2021, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation reported on the current stage of the project. A model was chosen where the Bank of Russia opens and maintains wallets for financial institutions, which, in turn, open and maintain wallets for clients. By the end of 2021, it was planned to create a platform where testing of the digital ruble should begin next year.^[7]

In June 2021, the Central Bank identified 12 banks that will take part in testing ruble blocks in January 2022: Ak Bars Bank, Alfa-Bank, Bank DOM.RF, VTB Bank, Gazprombank, Tinkoff Bank, Promsvyazbank, Rosbank, Sberbank, SKB- Bank, Bank SOYUZ, Bank TKB.^[8]

Testing began on January 19, 2022; On February 15, 2022, the Bank of Russia and market participants began testing the digital ruble platform and successfully carried out the first transfers in digital rubles between citizens;^[9] in the future they plan to test payment for goods and services using it.^[10][11][12]

At a press conference held on September 16, 2022, Elvira Nabiullina, Director of the Bank of Russia, announced the start date for testing the digital ruble with real clients on April 1, 2023.^[13]

On June 20, 2023, the State Duma approved a bill recognizing digital currency as an object of agreement, property and inheritance, and on July 11, in the second and third readings, it adopted a law on the implementation of the digital ruble. The law was signed by the President of the Russia on July 24, 2023.^[14][15]

The head of the Ministry of Finance of the Russia, Anton Siluanov, called the digital ruble promising. The minister explained its reliability by the fact that the issuer of the currency is the Central Bank. According to Siluanov, the project will be interesting for the budget because of its transparency.^[16]

At the end of 2020, Sberbank criticized a report that resulted in the transfer of 2-4 trillion rubles into digital rubles, which could lead to a reduction in lending rates.^[17] About half of the banks at that moment were created with meaningless rubles.^[18] Sberbank also warned about the risks associated with the low cyber stability of the new form of currency. To increase it, from the point of view of the deputy chairman of the board of the bank, Stanislav Kuznetsov, it is necessary to create a high-quality system, which will cost 20-25 billion rubles.^[19]

The risks of introducing a digital ruble include excessive over-regulation,^[20] monopolization of the financial system of the Russia, attempts to set limits on the circulation of money for citizens, organizations and state and municipal institutions, as well as the possibility of depriving money of its main function - the accumulation function.^[21] In a survey conducted by Mail.ru in August 2023, it turned out that Russians in general do not express interest in the digital ruble: only 12% of respondents plan to use it. Among the disadvantages are distrust of digital currencies in general, fear of state control over finances, lack of clear advantages compared to the usual non-cash payments, inability to withdraw cash from an ATM, cashback and interest on deposits.^[22]

It has been suggested that by using central bank digital ruble, Russia will try to circumvent economic sanctions imposed on the country.^[23][24]

• Central bank digital currency
• Digital Rupee
• Digital renminbi