Russia’s national cryptocurrency, the cryptoruble, is unlikely to be created in the foreseeable future, according to the Bank of Russia. The central bank believes that it could be used to bypass regulations. Meanwhile, the finance ministry wants to use the cryptoruble for cross-border payments. 

 

Cryptoruble Could Bypass Regulations

The first deputy governor of the Bank of Russia, Sergey Shvetsov, said at the Gaidar Forum this week that “The appearance of a cryptoruble in the foreseeable future is unlikely,” Tass reported. He elaborated:

I’m of the opinion that as long as the demand for cryptocurrencies is linked to a large extent with the bypass of regulations, it is clear that the regulator cannot afford to issue a cryptoruble, which will allow to bypass regulations.

 The bank’s first deputy chairman, Olga Skorobogatova, shared the sentiment, stating previously that she did not see the need for a cryptoruble.However, she said that the central bank is considering introducing a supranational digital currency within the BRICS or the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEC).

Cryptoruble for Cross-Border Payments

Meanwhile, Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev told reporters at the forum that his ministry “supports the idea of using a cryptoruble in cross-border settlements,” Tass also reported. He detailed:

The issue on which to focus now is the use of electronic money, a cryptoruble, in cross-border settlements. Settlements with our leading trading partners, at least the countries of the former USSR, could be made not in a foreign currency but in electronic rubles.

 However, Moiseev may not be referring to a cryptocurrency, as he previously expressed, “To be honest, I do not even understand what a cryptoruble is…I understand what an electronic ruble is.”Early this month, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin commissioned work to create a cryptoruble as a tool to circumvent international sanctions. He first ordered the creation of this new currency in October of last year.

Cryptoruble Delayed to Mid-2019

In an interview with Hi-Tech Mail, the Russian Association of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency (RACIB) estimated that the cryptoruble will not appear in Russia until at least the middle of next year. “If the proposal on the cryptoruble will be put forward in July as part of the president’s instruction, the normative documents will be drafted and introduced in the fall,” the director of the association explained, adding that:

They should be agreed at the end of the year, and the launch of the currency will take place in the middle of 2019.