Russia’s digital ruble went live this week in the first phase of its production rollout. And with it, a payments infrastructure that links every wallet directly to a citizen’s state identity.
At this stage only the 22 largest banks and retailers with turnover above $1.4 million must support the retail central bank digital currency (CBDC). There’s another year until the compulsory net widens further, and two years for smaller retailers to comply. Russian Railways already accepts the digital ruble, though local newspapers report glitches in many bank services, with a couple not working at all, and a lack of support for Apple mobile phones.
The technical hiccups will get fixed. The more consequential question is how the digital ruble reshapes the relationship between the state and the payments it can see.
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