Russia could become first country to make entire currency DIGITAL as cryptocurrency booms

The Sun 19 Feb 2021, 1:42

Discussions are underway about the launch of the digital ruble with local banks and the country’s financial watchdog has reportedly said it would present a more detailed concept by summer.

The head of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, said the regulator had received detailed feedback from the banking community about the prospect in a report back in October.

According to an RT report, most lenders expressed their support over a two-level model of the digital ruble.

The model would allow banks to open wallets for their clients on the central bank’s platform and conduct operations with the currency.

Nabiullina said: “We will develop a more detailed concept and start discussing it with the public, market participants, and banks at the beginning of summer.”

 

America says banks can now transact using so-called digital dollars

The Register6 Jan 2021

The US Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on Monday published a letter clarifying how federally chartered banking groups can use cryptocurrency and associated technology to manage financial transactions.

The letter endorses the use of independent node verification networks (INVN), such as blockchain distributed ledgers, and stablecoins – cryptocurrencies tied to fiat currencies, like Ethereum-based USD Coin (USDC) – as a means to settle customer transactions.

"Our letter removes any legal uncertainty about the authority of banks to connect to blockchains as validator nodes and thereby transact stablecoin payments on behalf of customers who are increasingly demanding the speed, efficiency, interoperability, and low cost associated with these products," said Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks in a statement.

The agency letter blesses the use of independent node verification network (INVN) systems to validate, store, and record payment transactions, and lets banks use INVNs and associated stablecoins (those pegged to a physical currency) for other lawful payments, per existing banking laws.

In an email to The Register, David Yermack, a professor of finance at the New York University Stern School of Business and adjunct professor of law at New York University School of Law, said that this looks like a big deal.

"It indirectly encourages banks to explore using FinTech platforms, and it seems to open the door for them to transact in instruments such as Tether, Diem (Libra), and other so-called stablecoins that are pegged to the US dollar," said Yermack.