Digital ruble will take 5-7 years to achieve mass adoption: Bank of Russia
Governor Elvira Nabiullina says that the digital ruble needs to be the most convenient payment method for individuals and businesses before it gains mass usage.
Governor Elvira Nabiullina says that the digital ruble needs to be the most convenient payment method for individuals and businesses before it gains mass usage.
The provisions of the newly minted law reveal that only tokenized assets issued by the Bank of Russia are authorized to be deployed in foreign trade payments.
Seven months after its introduction, Russia's digital ruble pilot has recorded 25,000 transactions, with the upcoming project with fellow BRICS member states projected to help increase the figure.
The proposed BRICS Bridge system draws inspiration from the BIS-backed mBridge platform, with China and the United Arab Emirates already recording initial successes.
Since mid-2023, the Bank of Russia has been experimenting with its central bank digital currency, the digital ruble, and a tentative launch date is pegged for 2025.
Russia’s CBDC pilot is expected to will gather a larger pool of merchants and participants following the onboarding of over a dozen more banks in the initiative, including Russia's largest bank.
Alexander Razuvaev says that while it’s being framed as optional, the digital ruble will become mandatory for all pension payments, limiting economic freedom.
Moscow Exchange plans to list real estate digital assets by 2024, promoting transparency through blockchain technology and offering broad access for potential profit.
As Russia prepares its digital ruble pilot, concerns arise over privacy and the CBDC's potential implications to the financial landscape, which may likely push back the project's full rollout.
Starting in 2025, business-to-business transactions involving the digital ruble will have a 15 rubles ($0.16) charge, while individuals will only have a 0.3% charge of the total value of the transaction.
Even though the use of the digital ruble remains voluntary, the Bank of Russia’s law on the CBDC is being criticized over its alleged lack of privacy rights.
Under the newly signed law, the Bank of Russia is tasked with storing digital ruble assets and will be the principal operator of the digital ruble infrastructure.