Bank of Russia: the digital ruble will be a third form of money, but not a cryptocurrency analogue

The central bank will independently issue digital rubles, which will become the third form of money and will not be an analogue of cryptocurrencies. Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia, Alexei Zabotkin, said this in an interview«Известиям».

Commenting on proposal by Sberbank to make all cashless rubles digital, he stressed that the digital ruble will be another form of money that will circulate alongside cash and non-cash. 

The platform for the new asset will be built on the basis of blockchain and centralized technologies:

«This will be a hybrid platform for the digital ruble, created and controlled by the Bank of Russia».

At the same time, banks will be able to create additional services for working with the digital ruble.

«The situation in which the Central Bank would single-handedly service all users of the digital ruble directly and in full is probably unlikely», said Zabotkin.

The platform will protect the confidentiality of settlements, but it is unlikely to offer anonymity. He also said wallets are unlikely to be non-personalised.

The deputy head of the Central Bank stressed that the digital ruble will not be an analogue of cryptocurrencies:

«The Bank of Russia’s digital ruble possesses such properties of money as its recognition as a universal means of payment and the ability to exchange it for other forms of the national currency at a 1:1 ratio. These properties are lacking in private cryptocurrencies.»

He also said that cryptocurrencies have ‘no guarantee’ that ensures ‘the legitimacy and reliability of their creation and use’.

The central bank published a report on the digital ruble in October.

At this stage, the regulator is conducting a series of meetings with banks and other market participants to discuss the possibility of issuing and circulating the digital ruble.

The final decision on the issuance of the central bank’s own digital currency has not yet been made, said the head of the Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina.

More on the regulator’s proposed models for creating the digital ruble can be found in ForkLog’s exclusive.

Accessibility and traceability: how the Bank of Russia sees the digital ruble

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