Russia Says No to Private Stablecoins Pegged with Ruble

Sergey Shvetsov, the first deputy governor at the central bank of the federation said no to the ruble-pegged private stablecoins. Another official, Olga Skorobogatova who is currently serving as the first deputy governor of the central bank also outlined the technical problems related to the issuance of the digital ruble.
According to the by Sergey Shvetsov, the upcoming digital ruble will only serve as a means of payment, nothing else. He added that private stablcoins pegged with the Russian fiat currency will create complexities and it is better to avoid such cryptocurrencies.
The recent statement by the Russian official indicates that the country is planning to adopt China’s digital yuan model that bans the issuance of private stablecoins backed by yuan.
“China has completely banned any stablecoins pegged with the yuan. I do not think we’re far from that. The central bank will suppress everything that is positioned as a means of payment. We assume that the ruble is the means of payment of the Russian Federation,” Shvetsov said during a discussion on digital ruble with members of the central bank and other market participants.
Challenges with Digital Ruble
Olga Skorobogatova pointed out some technical problems with the ruble including the recovery of the central bank’s digital currency in case of a loss. Skorobogatova criticised Facebook’s Libra project, also known as , which is pegged with the US dollar. She supported the stance of Sergey Shvetsov to ban private stablecoins pegged with the national currency.
“So far, no regulator has been able to figure out the restoration of rubles in case the smartphone is lost, for example, but mainly due to the fact that these emerging technologies are developing, we understand for ourselves that this issue can be worked out at the second stage. Technologically, this problem will have to be solved, but I think it is solvable,” Skorobogatova added.
The Russian Ministry of Finance recently drafted amendments to jail citizens for undeclared cryptocurrencies.