Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina said Thursday that the central bank will be reviewing a proposal for a gold-backed digital currency, Tass . In her remarks at the Duma, she suggested that such a currency could potentially be used to facilitate mutual settlements between Russia and other countries, but noted that existing fiat currency settlements are her current priority:
“As for mutual settlements, we will consider, of course, your proposal [for] a gold-backed . But, in my opinion, it is more important to develop settlements in national currencies.”
Nabiullina noted that the current Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) settlement framework has been designed to rely on national fiat currencies, which may help to explain why the central bank seems to prefer that option. When it comes to being introduced into the nation’s monetary system, however, Nabiullina was clearly opposed:
“We are generally opposed to being launched into our monetary system. We do not see the possibility that could act as monetary surrogates. Definitely not in this part.”
The EAEU has been working to create a common financial market and hopes to have that process completed by 2025. The five member states of that union have tasked a group of experts to analyze trends to help those nations determine the best approach to dealing with the new technology.
Published at Sat, 25 May 2019 01:02:20 +0000
