Bank of Russia Adds Digital Assets to Register of Accounts

Bank of Russia Adds Digital Assets to Register of Accounts

The Bank of Russia, which is also the central bank has introduced digital assets, including the digital version of the Russian ruble, to the recently published new banking register of accounts. Financial institutions will now be able to provide transaction details on the assets.

Russian Banks will Record Digital Currencies as Assets 

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR) has released the updated banking register of accounts for next year. Beginning in 2023, Russian lenders will be required to account for new types of transactions, including digital ruble flows and operations with digital financial assets (DFAs).

The monetary authority has been expanding the testing of its new Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) this year and hopes to pilot real-value settlements in early 2023. Concerned officials in Moscow are also working to regulate the decentralized digital currencies.

The current DFA law refers mostly to coins and tokens with an issuer, but a new bill "On Digital Currency" is likely to cover cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. Amid sanctions imposed over an escalating war in Ukraine, Russia hopes to use both the digital ruble and crypto assets for international settlements.

Only one account has been reserved for the digital ruble, while banks will have several accounts to reflect their DFAs in the sections "Acquired Digital Financial Assets" and "Issued Digital Assets," as the crypto page of the Russian business news portal RBC detailed.

Regulators explain the need for just one digital ruble account by pointing out that commercial banks will process only transfers of CBDC funds. The digital ruble will be issued by the Bank of Russia and stored in wallets at the CBR, while credit institutions will act as intermediaries, providing services to individuals and organizations such as executing transfers.

The Central Bank of Russia is actively pursuing its digital currency project, with over a dozen banks now taking part in the trials of the CBDC platform. The regulator has been promoting its implementation in foreign trade while other institutions, most notably the finance ministry, are keen to facilitate the employment of cryptocurrencies as a tool to circumvent Western financial restrictions.