In April, Russia rolls out the digital ruble
Russia continues work on rolling out a digital ruble.
Russia continues work on rolling out a digital ruble. Therefore, starting April 1, the central bank will roll out a testing phase for the national CBDC. This was reported by the state news agency TASS, citing statements from Deputy Governor Olga Skorobogatova.
The project focuses mainly on peer-to-peer transactions between individuals and retailers. For the project, Russia's monetary watchdog is engaging thirteen banks that have already passed a series of technical and operational tests. The banks will then test the functionality of the digital ruble. In a subsequent step, the central bank wants to consider potential scale-up solutions to expand the tests.
Digital ruble arrives in 2024
Exactly when this expansion will take place isn't yet clear, but it’s expected around 2024. Russia plans to roll out the digital ruble nationwide next year. All financial service providers and exchanges in the country must connect to the system. Additional features, like an offline mode, should come in 2025. The focus on a sovereign CBDC has top priority, emphasized the central bank head Elvira Nabiullina in late April 2022.
That the country is pushing so hard for the digital ruble is largely due to the sanctions the West imposed after the invasion of Ukraine. No other country has been hit so hard by the international community as Russia.
Consequently, the Kremlin is seeking alternatives to sidestep these sanctions. In addition to its own CBDC, Russia is increasingly engaging with the crypto sector.
