The central bank digital currency (CBDC) of Russia is set to pilot in the coming month of August after the lower chamber of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the State Duma, passed the bill in the third reading on July 11th.

The legislation encapsulates the legal definitions of “platform,” “participants” and “users” related to the digital ruble, while it also outlines the general guidelines for the CBDC ecosystem.

In the current national regulatory framework, the Bank of Russia (BoR), the nation’s central bank, will become regarded as the principal operator of the digital ruble infrastructure, alongside handling the responsibility for all stored assets denominated in digital format.

According to remarks made by the BoR, the main objective of the CBDC is to serve as a payment and transfer methods, which indicates that users may not be able to utilize it for a savings account.

The BoR emphasized that payments and transfers would be free of charge for individual users and will cost 0.3% of the payment amount for corporate clients.

Introduced in December of 2022 and passed through the first reading in March of the current year and the second, the bill marks Russia’s willingness to introduce a national digital currency in the name of centralization; a trend which has been growing across the globe.

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/digital-rouble-russian-parliament-passes-a-digital-rouble-bill

https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/russia-start-piloting-digital-rouble-august-interfax-2023-07-11/

https://www.ledgerinsights.com/russia-digital-ruble-legislation/

https://sozd.duma.gov.ru/bill/270838-8#bh_note