Russian business leaders are looking to use “digital assets” and a single digital currency for trading with BRICS members, as well as other countries that are friendly to Russia. According to Bankovskoye Obozrenie, the Council on Financial, Industrial, and Investment Policy of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has discussed the matter on multiple occasions.
Yulia Prikhodina, Deputy Chair of the Council, has mentioned the potential of utilizing DFAs (digital financial assets) in international payments, as well as the possibility of creating and introducing a single digital currency for use in BRICS cross-border payments. Furthermore, the Council has proposed using DFAs or a common digital currency to interact with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
Prikhodina believes that DFAs or digital fiat could be beneficial for Russia and its export-import trades, considering the ongoing Western-led sanctions. The term, however, can refer to multiple digital assets, such as digitized commodities, CBDCs, digital securities, NFTs, cryptoassets, and stablecoins. In order to avoid any confusion, Prikhodina has called for a clarification in official terminology.
The Council recently entered a cooperation agreement with the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics to investigate the regulations and legislation of friendly countries, such as Belarus, Turkey, Kazakhstan, India, Iran, Mongolia, UAE, China, and Qatar, in relation to CBDCs. Additionally, the Sinara Bank has stated that banks must learn to provide good service and earn money with the digital ruble, as well as explain its features and advantages to their customers.
