Commercial banks should be the gatekeepers of the digital ruble: This was the message from a Russian crypto and blockchain industry group chief – as the nation’s Central Bank gears up to launch a pilot for its forthcoming digital currency.
Russia is just one of the many nations now engaged in a fast-paced race to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC). After years of humming and hawing about a so-called “cryptoruble,” the Central Bank has now committed to launching a pilot next year, almost certainly to be followed by a swift, full national rollout.
But in an interview with news agency Tass, Vladislav Martynov, the Vice President of the Russian Association of Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain (RACIB), stated, the Central Bank’s framework for the digital ruble should see “the maximum amount of functionality” handed over to “existing players – namely, commercial banks.”
Martynov suggested that it should be commercial banks, rather than the Central Bank itself, that should be responsible for maintaining and hosting citizens’ digital ruble wallets.
Read more: https://cryptonews.com/news/give-commercial-banks-more-power-over-digital-ruble-industry-8553.htm