The Bank of Russia (BoR) has taken a significant step in its central bank digital currency (CBDC) project by revealing the official logo of the digital ruble. The logo features an international ruble symbol enclosed in a circle and comes in four colour combinations – red and white or black and white.
Alongside the logo, the Bank of Russia has also announced commission fee rates for different operations with the CBDC. Notably, all services will be free of charge until the end of 2024.
According to BoR, starting from 2025, business-to-business transactions will cost 15 rubles ($0.16) each, while individual customers will pay 0.3% of the total transaction sum when transferring to commercial accounts and 0.2% when paying for civil services.
The digital ruble project received official approval when Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the digital ruble bill into law on July 24. The CBDC’s launch began with a pilot phase involving thirteen local banks on August 1, 2023.
Furthermore, the apex bank will be the principal operator of the digital ruble infrastructure, serving as a payment and transfer method. However, citizens will have the option to choose between cash, non-cash rubles, and digital ruble for their transactions.
The Bank of Russia said that despite the push towards digital currency, it doesn’t expect mass adoption of the digital ruble in Russia before 2025 or possibly even 2027.
Russia and the digital economy
Russia has been in the news for developments related to the digital asset world before 2023. A local media house in the Putin-led nation, the TASS media agency, reported in September 2022 that the nation is planning to create a stablecoin settlement platform in collaboration with other countries.
TASS noted that the Ministry of Finance is leading the initiative, aiming to facilitate cross-border payments and mitigate the effects of sanctions on Russia.
Two months later, Russian lawmakers entered a discussion with market stakeholders to modify the current legislation on digital financial assets which is expected to result in the establishment of a national crypto exchange in Russia.
However, by May 2023, the nation stopped its plan for a national exchange and focused more on crypto regulations.
