Russia on track for digital ruble rollout on Sept. 1: Central bank governor
Russias central bank governor, Elvira Nabiullina, confirmed that the country was prepared to roll out its central bank digital currency (CBDC) in two months, following the timeline it laid out last year. According to a Thursday report from Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti, Nabiullina said that “everyone is ready” for a Sept. 1 digital ruble launch. The CBDC will launch as a complement to Russias fiat currency, the ruble, and will initially be accepted by financial and credit institutions. “We want the digital ruble to be in demand by people and businesses, to be convenient, and, of course, were constantly discussing [...] what functionality to develop,” said Nabiullina in a translated statement. Pile of 5000 ruble banknotes next to a keyboard on a white surface, viewed from above. Source: Polina Tankilevitch, Pexels The launch of a digital ruble, whose development began in 2021, has already been targeted by preemptive sanctions from European Union authorities, which announced restrictions on the CBDC in April. The European Council said that the sanctions package was in response to Russias “war of aggression against Ukraine,” which it started in February 2022. According to the Bank of Russias first deputy governor, Vladimir Chistyukhin, the law allowing the digital ruble will