UPDATE: Cbank to mull supranational e-currency in EAEU, BRICS in 2018

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MOSCOW, Dec 28 (PRIME) -- The Russian central bank will discuss creation of a supranational cryptocurrency with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and BRICS in 2018, while creation of a national digital currency is unreasonable, First Deputy Chairperson Olga Skorobogatova said on Thursday.

“We continue to study the matter, because introduction of a national digital currency does not seem quite reasonable to us from the point of view of the population’s macroeconomy,” Skorobogatova said.

“The issue we find worth discussing with our colleagues is launching a digital currency on the territory of the EAEU or, for example, in BRICS. We’re at the very beginning of the road of negotiations on the matter, because there are truly many macroeconomic and technological issues.

“I think that the coming year will be dedicated to elaboration of approaches to the opportunity of issuing such a supranational digital currency.”

The EAEU comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. BRICS stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev said that the creation of a cryptoruble in Russia is unreasonable.

“Making these cryptorubles is pointless. Frankly speaking, I don’t even understand what cryptorubles are,” Moiseyev said.

“If we announce at a government level that we reject the principle that the central bank is in charge of emission, we could launch the cryptoruble. At that we could not even ensure a 100% reliability of transactions.”

President Vladimir Putin ordered the government and the central bank to elaborate amendments to the law by July 1, 2018, to regulate the procedure of cryptocurrency offers similar to an initial public offering.

The president also ordered preparation of amendments to the definition of a status of digital technologies used in the financial industry, and such notions as “cryptocurrency”, “token”, and “smart-contract” by July 1, 2018.

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