The Bank of Russia tried to address some apprehensions regarding the impact of the digital ruble.
In order to alleviate widespread apprehensions, the Bank of Russia has issued numerous statements concerning the digital ruble.
In particular, the Bank of Russia’s draft of the primary guidelines for the unified state monetary policy for 2025 and the years 2026 and 2027 is as follows:
“The Bank of Russia will persist in its pursuit of inflation following the implementation of the digital ruble. The introduction of a digital version of the national currency will not influence the mechanisms for implementing monetary policy. By undertaking liquidity provision operations to banks and absorbing the same, the Bank of Russia will continue to manage money market rates.”
In practice, the regulatory authority aimed to underscore that the issuance of the digital ruble will not result in an increase in the economy’s money supply. Conversely, the Russian CBDC will solely influence the demand for cash and funds in bank accounts among economic operators.
Consequently, the monetary policy mechanisms of Vladimir Vladimirovič Putin’s country will not be impacted by the digital ruble, which will not exert any inflationary pressure.
Following the clarification of the digital ruble’s limitations, the Bank of Russia proceeded to specify its capabilities.
In practice, the introduction of the digital ruble will result in the establishment of an additional payment infrastructure that will contribute to the sustainability, reliability, and continuous operation of the payment and monetary settlement system in general.
The digital ruble will not alter the fundamental principles of the banking system’s operation or the principles of monetary policy implementation. In this regard, the text specifies the following:
“Initially, the two-tier banking system will be maintained, and credit institutions will continue to fulfil their primary responsibilities of lending to the economy and accumulating the savings of the population.”
In any event, the Bank of Russia initiated the virtual Ruble trial process on August 15, 2023. Initially, approximately 600 individuals from 12 institutions were involved. Numerous additional individuals have enlisted since September 1, 2024. The bank declared that:
“The pilot has been expanded effective September 1, 2024. The commencement of the new phase has resulted in a significant increase in the total number of participants.”
Also Read: The PayPal stablecoin PYUSD is now available for purchase on MoonPay in all supported countries
Wallets