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According to a local report, the Bank of Russia is preparing to launch a pilot project of central bank digital currency on April 1. The bank’s vice president, Olga Skorobogatova, said the pilot will include real transactions between real customers, but the number will be limited.
Russia to launch CDBC pilot in April
On February 17, the Central Bank of Russia announced its intention to launch a CBDC pilot on April 1. The pilot will include transactions with real customers but will be limited and not available to the general public. Apparently 13 banks will participate and have already signaled that they are ready.
If the test proves successful, the digital ruble could become a full-fledged reality in 2024. Throughout the previous year, Russia has been slowly striving to become more crypto-friendly. At the end of September, the Moscow Stock Exchange revealed its plans to start offering cryptocurrencies.
Last September, the Central Bank of Russia reached an agreement with the country’s Ministry of Finance on a bill that would allow cross-border cryptocurrency payments. More recently, it was reported that Sberbank is work on an Ethereum-based platform which he plans to launch in May.
How close are popular CBDCs?
Russia is far from the only country actively pursuing a central bank digital currency – around 100 countries and all G7 economies actively explore CBDCs. At the beginning of 2023, the Bank of Spain gave the green light to a relatively small private company project which she hopes will become an “embryo” for the future development of the planned digital euro.
Moreover, while many Fed members are skeptical of an American CBDC, there are growing reports that central bank digital currencies are the future. Already in January 2022, the Bank of America concluded that a digital dollar is inevitablewhile IBM’s executive partner Web3 said these digital currencies are simply the future of money and payments.
Some, however, remain highly skeptical of the CBDC. There have been longstanding disagreements about the impact that central bank digital currencies will have on privacy. More recently, a UK advocacy group launched a campaign attempt to prevent the creation of a digital pound.
This article originally appeared on The Tokist
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