Russia’s proposed state-issued digital currency is coming, according to one of the country’s legislators. However, with SWIFT indicating that it has no plans to stop servicing Russian banks, it’s unclear whether another Russian proposal, for a payments network that would include it and several nearby countries, will continue to interest policymakers.
The head of the Committee on the Financial Market in Russia's lower legislative chamber, Anatoly Aksakov, has said[1] that the cryptoruble[2] is on its way, although it will not make its debut in the coming year.
Speaking to attendees of the Yalta International Economic Forum[3], he revealed that the "Cryptoruble is not the next year, but it can happen quite quickly," and apparently hinted that blockchain technology could one day encroach on areas that have historically been the domain of traditional payments systems.
After some equivocation[4] on whether or not the plan for a government-issued digital currency was worthwhile, a bill[5] defining the cryptoruble was submitted to the legislature on January 25.
Meanwhile, the interbank financial messaging system SWIFT, which offers technology that allows banks to transfer significant amounts of money across borders, has signaled[6] that it does not intend to cut Russian banks out of its network.
Eddie Astanin, Russia's representative on SWIFT's board of directors, recently said[7] that "SWIFT will not respond to attempts of pressure and calls to disconnect financial institutions from its network."
On April 18, SWIFT CEO Gottfried Leibbrandt told those present at the Russian National SWIFT Association[8]'s annual general meeting[9] that:
"Neutrality is integral to SWIFT, it's one of our core principles. As a unique utility to the global economy, we believe in serving the global
