Russian President Vladimir Putin has officially signed the country's digital ruble bill into law. The legislation, establishing a legal framework for the country's central bank digital currency (CBDC) ecosystem, will come into force as of Aug. 1. The bill was first introduced to the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, the State Duma, in December 2022 and passed in the third reading in July. - The new legislation makes the Bank of Russia (BoR), the country's central bank, the main operator of the CBDC infrastructure and responsible for all the stored assets.
- The regulatory framework also sees the digital ruble as a payment and transfer method rather than an investment instrument, which means that CBDC users in Russia cannot open savings accounts.
- Putin's sign has officially authorized the BoR to launch the first CBDC pilot in the country with real consumers in August.
- However, the central bank does not expect the digital ruble to move to the mass rollout for all Russian citizens before 2027.
- The BoR governor, Elvira Nabiullina, said the government would not force Russian citizens to use the CBDC, and it would be a completely voluntary choice.
The launch of the CBDC pilot in Russia, initially planned to start on April 1 with 13 local banks, was postponed by the BoR in March since the related legislation had not been ready yet. |
