At the Financial Congress Bank of Russia head of the regulator Elvira Nabiullina clarified two hot topics — the digital ruble and stablecoins.

The main message: there will be no coercion. Rumors that budget workers and pensioners will be forcibly converted to the digital ruble, Nabiullina called absurd. Each citizen will decide for themselves whether to receive their salary and pension in digital rubles, cash or to a bank account. The task of the Central Bank — to make the tool convenient and in demand, not to impose it. The level of transaction transparency will remain the same as for regular non-cash transactions.

At the same time, the large-scale launch is going according to plan: from September 1, 2026 the largest banks and retail chains will connect to the platform. Transactions for citizens will be free, a minimum tariff has been introduced for businesses. Later, all organizations with a turnover of more than 120 million rubles per year will join the system.

The second important signal — the Central Bank's readiness to discuss stablecoins. Nabiullina admitted that the Bank of Russia is actively studying how national stablecoins can complement the digital currencies of central banks in international transactions. According to her, interest in the topic is high: some market participants suggest using such tools even within the country. The regulator is still cautious, but the very fact of open discussion at the Central Bank's site — is a significant signal for the market.

#digitalruble
#Nabiullina
#stablecoins
#internationaltransactions
#CB #cryptocurrency
#CBDC
#Brick