The platform developed for the digital ruble will be able to operate with different state-issued digital currencies, the Bank of Russia said. Mechanisms for interaction with digital coins minted by the central banks of other countries are already under development, the monetary authority unveiled.

Digital Ruble Platform to Support Integration With Other CBDCs, Bank of Russia

The system underpinning the issuing and circulation of Russia’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) may well work with the digital legal tenders of other nations, representatives of the Russian monetary policy regulator indicated this week.

Speaking with Russian lawmakers, the central bank officials remarked that the matter still needs to be worked out but emphasized that various models for interaction between the digital ruble and other CBDCs are currently being developed.

The alternatives include establishing two-way integration with each of the other CBDCs platforms or launching an international digital platform which would facilitate the simultaneous interaction between the digital currencies of multiple issuers.

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR) remains opposed to the free circulation of decentralized cryptocurrencies in the country and does not plan to create a national crypto exchange, its representatives said, quoted by the crypto news outlet Bits.media.

However, considering the option to legalize international crypto settlements under experimental legal regimes, a special organization will be set up to facilitate the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies between the participants in such transactions.

The CBR does not plan to issue a stablecoin pegged to the national fiat, according to the statements made during the meeting with members of the New People party. At the same time, the regulator is not against using this type of digital financial assets in cross-border payments or the trading of such coins through Russian exchanges.

Pressed by Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, Russia has been also working to create alternative payment gateways with partnering nations, including Turkey, CBR Governor Elvira Nabiullina recently revealed. The top executive made it clear that the Russian central bank would also allow the experimental use of cryptocurrencies in foreign economic activities.

Do you think Russia will try to convince other nations to establish a common platform for CBDC payments? Share your expectations in the comments section below.

Lubomir Tassev

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’s quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.