How China's CBDC Stablecoin Can Help Get Around Sanctions Against Russia

Due to the invasion, the smallest to the most prominent Russian banks have faced severe problems in functioning. The recent disconnection of the Russian banking system from SWIFT has forced the search for urgent solutions to the issues.

Russia's central bank has attempted to solve the problem by accelerating the development of the digital ruble and loosening restrictions on the use of cryptocurrencies for cross-border transactions.
 

For now, the digital ruble is being tested by the Bank of Russia in cooperation with other financial institutions. When the Central Bank announced the tests earlier this year, a dozen Russian banks expressed interest in participating in the pilot program.

A monetary policy update published by the Bank of Russia on Aug. 11 said the central bank will beta-test intelligent contracts based on the digital ruble, after which all banks and credit institutions will be integrated into the digital ruble platform in 2024.