Vladimir Putin signed the law on the introduction of the digital ruble in the Russian Federation

According to the new law, the use of CBDC is supposedly voluntary for Russian citizens.

On July 24 this year, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, signed the latest law that introduces the digital ruble. Due to this event, the country has started to make significant progress in the widespread implementation of its own digital currency, which will be operated by a central bank. It is worth noting that the legal regulation related to the digital ruble is to officially enter into force on August 1, 2023.

Vladimir Putin signed the law introducing the digital ruble

The latest legal framework officially gives the Russian central bank the tools to launch a pioneering CBDC pilot. This program will be run with real consumers as early as next month. Some time ago, the Russian government speculated that it would most likely conduct the above-mentioned tests as early as April 2023. These activities were to take place in cooperation with 13 local financial institutions.

At this point, it is worth being aware that, in accordance with the newly signed law, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation has been designated as the main operator of the entire digital ruble infrastructure. This means that this institution will be fully responsible for all assets held in this digital currency.

The virtual currency created by the Russians is intended to serve two primary purposes in the future, namely as a method of payment and remittances. The Russian state has officially announced that it will not be any form of investment or speculative tool. According to experts, the Russian CBDC will be the third official form of money in the Russian Federation, next to the ruble in cash and electronic form.

The use of the Russian CBDC is to be voluntary

According to currently available information, Russian citizens will reportedly not be forced in any way by their government to use the digital ruble. The statement recently issued by the governor of the Russian central bank, Elwira Nabiullina, clearly shows that the use of the digital form of the ruble is to be a fully voluntary choice.

An important parameter in this case is that although the use of the new CBDC is not to be compulsory, the aforementioned Russian official from the banking sector pointed out that such a currency can certainly bring many benefits to Russia and its citizens. In her opinion, the digital ruble will be more convenient and definitely cheaper than the currently used fiat currency.

As for the Russian forecasts regarding the progress of the Russian society's awareness of the new version of the ruble, the deputy governor of the Russian central bank, Olga Skorobogatova, revealed that the government of the Russian Federation does not expect a mass adoption of the digital ruble in the country before 2025 or even 2027.

The above-mentioned information about the signature of Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared after the fact, when the Russian State Duma adopted this law during the last reading on July 11 this year. Subsequently, the law was approved by the Federation Council or the Senate on July 19 this year.