Russia Gives Green Light to Digital Ruble

Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the Digital Ruble Bill into law. The new law will come into effect on August 1st, 2023, at which time the Russian government will have the power to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina noted that “nobody will be forced to use the digital ruble”. She also said that she hoped that people would start to use the CBDC because “a digital ruble would be more convenient and cheaper for people and businesses”.

Last week, the Bank for International Settlements published the results of a survey where 18% of central banks said they would issue a CBDC in the “near term”.