Ruble or Rubble? Russian Institutions Have Concerns About Proposed CBDC

The Association of Russian Banks is worried about regulators being unable to track illicit transactions of an offline-enabled digital ruble. Russia’s central bank digital currency, or CBDC, could contain a number of risks related to cybersecurity and fraud, according to several local financial institutions.The Association of Russian Banks, or ARB, has released its official feedback on Russia’s digital ruble project on Jan. 13. The study included 17 ABR credit institutions in Russia accounting for 58% of the total assets of the domestic banking system. According to the report, the majority....

A new survey of 3,000 Russians suggested that most people strongly disagree with receiving salary payouts in a state-controlled digital currency. Amid the Bank of Russia continuing progressing with its central bank digital currency (CBDC) development, one survey suggested that few Russians are ready to accept salary payments in the digital ruble.Almost half of the Russian respondents strongly objected to receiving salaries in the digital ruble in a new survey by local recruitment site HeadHunter. Only 11% of respondents said that they were ready to get salaried in the digital ruble, while....

Russian rubles are now flooding into Tether, while rubble-denominated crypto pairs are on the rise on major crypto exchanges. Between February 20 and February 28, Bitcoin volume surged by 243%, from 522 to 1,792 BTC traded via Binance’s BTC/RUB combo. A Russian government study claimed Russians held 2 trillion rubles ($20 billion) in cryptocurrencies. Related Article | Bitcoin Staggers After Putin’s Nuclear Deterrence Alert Warning Rubble-Denominated Crypto Pairs Surge On February 28, a tremendous spike in the volume of the ruble pairings in Binance, especially in USDT, became....

Last week the Russian ruble hit a seven-year high against the U.S. dollar and while analysts have downplayed the rise, one economist said people should not “ignore the exchange rate.” American economists have been perplexed about the ruble’s market performance and Russian officials have been quoted as saying that a strong ruble “makes Russian exports more expensive.” Furthermore, U.S. president Joe Biden continues to blame high gas prices on Vladimir Putin. Vladimir Putin Says the West’s Sanctions Obviously ‘Did Not Succeed’....

Russia’s central bank says that the digital ruble can be an “additional form of money alongside cash and non-cash.” Russian financial authorities have confirmed the government’s purported plans to issue the central bank digital currency, or CBDC.On Oct. 13, the Bank of Russia released a consultation paper on the development of the digital Russian ruble. In the statement, the central bank said that the digital ruble can become an “additional form of money alongside cash and non-cash.” The establishment of Russia’s CBDC project will require the creation of additional payment infrastructure,....