The Block: Russia sees no need to issue a national digital currency

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation is not keen on issuing a national digital currency.

Elvira Nabiullina, head of the central bank, said that the regulator has been studying a topic of digital currencies, but sees no obvious need to issue a national cryptocurrency. Nabiullina made the remarks at a forum on Thursday, as reported by Russian news agency TASS.

“Not only for technological reasons, but also because it is (difficult) to really estimate what advantages will the national digital currency give, for example, in comparison with existing electronic non-cash payments. There are many risks, and the advantages may not be obvious enough," Nabiullina added.

Interestingly, in June, Nabiullina said that the central bank was considering launching a digital currency, though such a project “cannot be realized immediately.” With her today’s remarks, that idea seems to have been put to rest.

In the meanwhile, China’s central bank is “ready” to launch its digital yuan later this year or early next year. Germany's finance minister Olaf Scholz also recently said that he is in favor of a national digital euro. Switzerland’s central bank is also exploring a blockchain-based digital currency.

Last week, U.S. lawmakers also asked the country's central bank, the Federal Reserve, to consider developing a digital dollar as the “nature of money is changing.”