Digital ruble: testing starts from January 2022

The Russian central bank said it intends to complete development of the digital ruble prototype in December and begin testing in January 2022. Tests that will take place in stages over the next few months with the aim of establishing a roadmap for the final realization of the digital ruble. Olga Skorobogatova, first deputy governor of the Bank of Russia said: “The digital ruble project aims to create new payment infrastructures to improve the availability of payments and transfers and to reduce their costs for families and businesses. For the convenience of its use, we must ensure that it is possible to switch between the paper and digital ruble without difficulty. That is why it is very important for us to collaborate with the participants in all phases of the pilot project. To organize this cooperation, we have set up the first pilot group of banks so that they have sufficient time to technically and technologically prepare their systems and processes for the test phase ”. Andrey Kostin, director of the VTB commercial bank, one of the leading institutions in the Russian Federation, explained in an interview with Bloomberg TV that: “The introduction of official cryptocurrencies could be interesting. I know that some states, like China, are particularly advanced in experimentation. (…) I am in contact with the Central Bank to carry out the first tests on a Russian CBDB. These trials on the official digital ruble will begin next year. It will take a couple of years to actually introduce this innovation, but I think this is the future of the banks ”. The drive to accelerate also derives from the need to break free from the relationship with the US dollar and to offer an official alternative to cryptocurrencies, which are so strictly considered in Russia. The governor of the Russian central bank, Elvira Nabiullina, recently reiterated the institution’s adverse position during an interview, stating that cryptocurrencies are one of the most dangerous investments currently existing on the market: “It is much easier to lose money than to make it in the markets. currencies, and speculative crypto assets are even riskier ”. he pointed out that cryptocurrency markets are extremely volatile, and that in some cases “the losses can be huge”. He then advised the general public not to conduct this kind of investment: “The central bank never gives advice on investments, but in this particular case the bank certainly does not recommend cryptocurrencies”. Also because cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are “fake money” and, therefore, should not even be used for payments in Russia, even if there are more and more voices within the country against this rigidity developed by Russian monetary institutions. . Openly criticizing the Bank of Russia for its stance on Bitcoin, after Duma member Fedot Tumusov recently declared: “cryptocurrencies are reality. If we don’t accept it, we will lose ”, thought one of the richest men in Russia, Basic Element founder Oleg Deripaska. According to the Russian tycoon, even a less financially developed state like El Salvador “has realized the need for digital currencies and has chosen a simple path, recognizing Bitcoin as a means of payment”.