In Russia, Digital Ruble Can Already Be Used To Buy Digital Gold

Digital Ruble can be used to buy digital gold. (Photo; Doc. Beincrypto)

JAKARTA - Moscow-headquartered Rosbank Bank has facilitated digital gold purchases through central bank digital currency (CBDC) or digital rubles. This transaction is carried out through the blockchain platform of Atomyze, a company that has been authorized as a digital financial asset issuer (DFA) by the Bank of Russia.

According to a statement issued by the bank, this is the first time such transactions have been carried out in the Russian Federation using distributed ledger technology and the country's digital currency, the digital ruble. This platform is still in the testing and development stage and is expected to be officially launched next year.

In order to buy or invest in digital financial assets, potential buyers must open an account on a special platform. Once the trade offer is accepted, payment will be received by the buyer in digital rubles. Rosbank explained this process as a form of growing public interest in digital financial assets and the need for safe and reliable solutions to make transactions.

"This transaction demonstrates the high level of public interest in digital financial assets and the need for reliable and secure solutions, including the ability to make payments with Russia's new national currency, the digital ruble," Rosbank said, quoted by Bitcoin.com News.

"We are very pleased to have played a key role in this successful digital gold deal, providing synergies between two innovative projects based on distributed ledgers, the DFA platform and the digital ruble platform," said Olga Makhova, director of innovation and data analysis at Rosbank.

The Central Bank of Russia made major strides in regulating the digital financial asset market (DFA) by adding four new entities to the list of organizations permitted to issue DFAs. The new list includes tokenization service Atomyze, fintech company Lighthouse, and Russia's largest state-owned and private banks, Sberbank and Alfa-Bank.

The issuance of DFA is currently governed by the law “On Digital Financial Assets” which came into force in January 2021. Going forward, DFA is expected to help strengthen the Russian financial market and provide flexibility to customers to make transactions more quickly and efficiently.

In December 2022, the Sberbank platform was used to issue gold-based DFAs for the first time. This DFA represents a monetary claim, whose liability depends on the price of physical gold. More than a dozen banks and other financial institutions are taking part in the pilot phase of the digital ruble project.

Although some analysts recently estimated that commercial banks in Russia could lose up to 50 billion rubles per year (more than 700 million US dollars) when this digital currency is introduced, Gazprombank calls for implementing CBDCs gradually in order for the financial system to adapt.

With this new policy, the Central Bank of Russia shows its commitment to advancing digital financial markets and helping solve current financial problems. Innovation and development in this market are expected to help improve efficiency and transparency in the financial sector.