Vladimir Putin Approves Russian CBDC, Launches In August

The world’s largest country by area is set to roll out the digital ruble next week after Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the green light to the project on Thursday.

• the Invoice text Russia amends the Civil Code to allow the use of the digital ruble for payments, with Russia’s central bank empowered to allow real citizens to use the currency from August 1.
• Digital ruble accounts will be managed directly by the central bank, rather than by commercial banks.
  in statement Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, who was quoted by Russian media, explained that the use of the currency is purely optional.

• “We really hope that it will be more convenient and cheaper for both individuals and companies, and they will start using it,” she said. “This is a new opportunity.”

• The Russian government first began exploring the digital ruble in October 2020, and began piloting the system with Russian banks in February 2022. Two weeks ago, the State Duma approved the new law that will allow individuals to use the currency.
• The currency will be programmable to implement certain transaction limits, restrictions on what citizens can spend their money on.
• While Western countries such as the United States and Canada are only exploring CBDCs, critical politicians in every country have criticized the very concept of this feature.
• In March, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described CBDCs as a tool to “monitor Americans, control Americans’ behavior.”
• By contrast, Putin and the Russian parliament have already banned the use of private cryptocurrencies for payments within the country, only approving their use in cross-border trade.