Russia's Central Bank Declares that Digital Ruble is "Much Needed", and Won't Delay Testing

A top representative stated that the monetary authority does not intend to delay trials, despite the fact that not all banks have been invited to participate.

Bank of Russia will experiment with digital ruble payments this year

The digital ruble "is very much needed", Olga Skorobogatova, First Deputy Chairman of Bank of Russia, recently stated in a statement that was quoted by RBC's crypto-page. According to the top-ranking official, the regulator will not delay the testing of the prototype currency platform. He also elaborated on the matter:

We can easily implement the changes in the next years if we act quickly on testing and legislative amendments.

The Central Bank of Russia began trials using the digital ruble in January, and announced successful transactions between individual wallets mid-February. The experiments are being carried out by at least 12 Russian financial institutions. They are expected to continue into 2022.

Skorobogatova acknowledged that not all banks participating in the tests are technically ready. Skorobogatova said that this shouldn't affect the timeline for the project to issue digital currency from the Russian central bank ( CBDC).

Skorobogatova announced earlier this year that the second phase of trials will begin in the fall. The CBR will launch operations that involve payments for goods or services using the digital ruble, as well as government transfers. In collaboration with the Federal Treasury, smart contracts will be issued by the bank.

After paper cash and electronic bank money, the digital ruble will be Russia's third national fiat currency. It will be issued by Russia's central bank. It will be available for use online and offline by Russians. According to the CBR, its CBDC will open up new opportunities for citizens and businesses as well as the state.

Russia is currently struggling to deal with the effects of the west's expanding sanctions on Ukraine. There are calls in Moscow for cryptocurrencies to be used to bypass the restrictions as well as finance international trading. As a way of reducing Russia's dependency on the U.S. dollar now that its foreign currency reserves are frozen, a proposal to make the digital ruble a Reserve currency was also circulated.