Share this article

Russia's Digital Ruble Model to Get Bank-Friendly Redesign

Banks had feared being drained of liquidity under the original concept for the digital currency.

Updated Sep 14, 2021, 12:13 p.m. Published Feb 18, 2021, 1:43 p.m.
Elvira Nabiullina, governor of the Bank of Russia.
Elvira Nabiullina, governor of the Bank of Russia.

Russia's central bank will present a modified concept for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) later this year following discussions with banks.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the State of Crypto Newsletter today. See all newsletters

  • Most institutions favor a two-level model for a digital ruble in which banks open wallets on clients' behalf on the central bank's platform, Bank of Russia chair Elvira Nabiullina said Thursday, according to an RT report.
  • Discussions around the creation of a state-backed digital currency started in October, but concerns were raised by commercial banks that liquidity could be drained from their balance sheets as a result.
  • The new model will be presented for discussion with the public and stakeholders at the start of this summer, Nabiullina said.
  • Launching and testing a special platform would be the next step, according to RT's report.
  • While the Bank of Russia is pushing on with its own digital currency plans, public crypto assets are set to be ruled out as a legal means of payment.
  • Russia's State Duma is currently introducing legislation that would also recognize cryptocurrency as property for tax purposes. The bill passed its first reading Wednesday.

See also: Russian Mobile Operators Eye Payments Services, Wallets for Digital Ruble

More For You

Protocol Research: GoPlus Security

GP Basic Image

What to know:

  • As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
  • GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
  • Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.

More For You

U.S. Senate's Warren asks for Trump-tied crypto probe as market structure bill drags

Senator Elizabeth Warren (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

The influential Democrat is the most vocal critic of the crypto legislation, and she continues to throw rhetorical sand in the gears of the negotiation.

What to know:

  • U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, is calling for a probe into DeFi platforms, especially on their relationship with the business interests of President Donald Trump.
  • Warren's pushback comes as the Senate is still negotiating the details of a crypto market structure bill, a process that's now drifted into January.