Bank of Russia Speeds Up Ruble’s Digital Counterpart Launch

• Russian central bank had initially planned to begin the digital ruble pilot.
• Digital ruble wallets were established using mobile applications.

Moscow has been persuaded by sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine to speed up the construction of the ruble’s digital counterpart, Forbes reported in Russian, citing CBR First Deputy Chairman Olga Skorobogatova. She announced during a meeting of the Russian Association of Banks.

According to a high-ranking source, the Russian central bank had initially planned to begin the digital ruble pilot with actual transactions and users in 2024, but it has now been agreed to do so in April 2023. Regulators are also looking to install smart contracts on the currency infrastructure at the same time.

First Successful Transfers Between Wallets

The Central Bank of Russia indicated this spring that a prototype of the digital ruble would be available by the end of 2021 and that testing with commercial banks would begin in 2022. During February of this year, the company started testing the platform and reported the first successful transfers between wallets.

Digital ruble wallets were established using mobile applications, and bank accounts may be exchanged for digital rubles and subsequently transferred between the users, according to the CBR. According to Skorobogatova, digital money transactions will be free for all Russians and accessible nationwide.

Thirty Russian banks have already linked their systems to the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) network as part of the project’s trial group. The CBR disclosed that two financial institutions had completed an entire cycle of digital ruble transactions between customers.

 In contrast to the ministry’s desire for legalization and regulation, the monetary authority has advocated a complete ban on all crypto-related activity and transactions. The central bank maintains its harsh position on the topic, claiming that legalizing their circulation would threaten Russia’s financial stability and the well-being of its inhabitants.