The Bank of Russia is going to become the sole operator of the digital ruble

The State Duma will consider a new bill that will allow the Central Bank of the Russian Federation to process personal data of digital ruble users without their consent. On Thursday, December 29, a group of deputies, headed by Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, submitted for consideration a bill on the rules for the use and issuance of the digital ruble (CBDC). Legislators propose to make a number of amendments to legislative acts that will allow the issuance of a state digital currency. The purpose of the new bill, as stated in the document itself, is “the development of a payment infrastructure that expands the use of digital technologies for citizens, the state and business”. The authors assure that the law will increase the speed, security and convenience of online payments, as well as reduce costs. Along the way, the authors of the project propose to amend the law “On the National Payment System” by introducing new definitions related to the digital ruble – they propose to add to consolidate the Central Bank as the sole operator of the digital ruble platform, which receives all the powers to implement the Russian CBDC. One of the most important innovations is that the authors of the amendments propose to amend the law “On Personal Data”, giving the Central Bank the opportunity to process the personal data of digital ruble users without their consent. Earlier, the head of the State Duma working group on assessing the risks of cryptocurrency turnover, Elina Sidorenko, said that an experimental mode of settlements in digital currency for some transactions could be introduced in Russia.