Amid the fighting with Ukraine, Russia is intensifying plans to use its central bank digital currency (CBDC) – the digital ruble – in its trade with China. This encourages other countries around the world to use CBDCs in joint agreements with foreign partners, boosting the adoption of cryptocurrencies globally.
Anatoly Aksakov, a Russian lawmaker and head of the finance committee of the Duma, the lower house of parliament, said that after the CBDC launches early next year, Moscow intends to use the digital ruble to reduce the country’s dependence on Western finance.
“The topic of digital financial assets, digital rubles, and cryptocurrencies are currently on the rise, as Western countries impose sanctions and cause problems for bank transfers, including international transfers,” he said.
Aksakov also stated that this is an important project because financial flows can bypass the system controlled by countries with strained relations with Russia. The Central Bank of Russia and the government have not reached a consensus on cryptocurrency regulation, but the congressman said he expects the law to be enacted by the end of 2022.
“If we launch this, then other countries will start actively using cryptocurrencies in the future, and U.S. control over the global financial system will come to the end,” he said.
Last March, the Central Bank of Russia announced the official launch of a digital ruble trial, completing the first CBDC money transfers between citizens. At the time of the announcement, three of the 12 financial institutions in the CBDC’s pilot group had integrated the platform of the digital ruble, and two of them completed the “digital ruble transfer cycle between customers using mobile banking applications.”
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