Bank of Russia Plans to Complete the Digital Ruble Launch in 2024. A report outlining the Central Bank of Russia’s monetary policy aims for the years 2023 to 2025 reveals that it intends to start the full deployment of the digital ruble in two years. The monetary authority plans to gradually connect various financial institutions to the platform as work on the state-issued digital currency progresses.

The Russian Central Bank will launch the digital ruble in two years.

The key axes of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation’s (CBR) monetary policy for the ensuing three years are outlined in a draft document that was just published. The adoption of a digital counterpart of the country’s fiat currency, the ruble, is one of the regulator’s primary objectives, according to the paper, which states:

The Russian cryptocurrency news outlet Bits.media said, citing the bank, that while the full-scale rollout of the digital ruble will start in two years, some of its characteristics, such the offline mode and the joining of non-banking financial organizations and exchanges, are expected in 2025.

The central bank digital currency (CBDC) would be introduced gradually, allowing market participants to adjust to the new circumstances, the CBR said. The bank added that more restrictions might be put in place if necessary, such as limiting the number of digital rubles that can be stored in a single wallet or establishing a maximum amount that can be transferred with each transaction.

Although the Bank of Russia does not anticipate a significant outflow of money from bank deposits, critics have warned that the CBDC could potentially endanger the stability of the banking system. This is because traditional financial institutions draw capital by providing interest rates and bonus plans. The CBR stated that Russian banks should use the digital ruble as “an extra incentive to boost the attractiveness of bank accounts.”

According to the central bank, keeping money in bank accounts has some benefits over keeping it in digital wallets because the former generate income. The Bank of Russia does not expect to pay any interest on holdings of digital rubles on its CBDC platform because of this.

The CBR is also getting ready to start testing with actual users and transactions in April of next year, ahead of schedule. In May, Skorobogatova acknowledged that the bank’s decision to quicken the construction of the CBDC was influenced by the financial sanctions imposed by the West in response to Russia’s armed invasion of Ukraine.