Belarus Pushes Ahead with Blockchain Platform for Digital Ruble Amid Sanctions
Summary:
Belarus is advancing in its development of a blockchain platform for a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), despite international sanctions. Envisioned for cross-border transactions, the digital ruble, the project is underway by the state-owned Center of Bank Technologies. The country plans to make CBDC a legal tender potentially for trade with Russia, which is developing its own digital currency. This development follows recent legal efforts by the Belarusian government to prohibit peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency transactions due to a rise in cybercrime.
Belarus is actively progressing in its efforts to establish a blockchain structure for its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Despite being under global sanctions, the country seeks to utilize its digital ruble, the national currency, for international transactions. Reports from Ekonomicheskaya Gazeta, a local newspaper, indicate that the state-owned Center of Bank Technologies took up the CBDC platform development in January. The platform is being built on the open-source Hyperledger Fabric blockchain and its development is underway with the institution currently recruiting developers. The organization’s official website shows a vacancy for backend developers knowledgeable in Hyperledger Fabric and Linux, with prior experience in creating smart contracts. Information about the CBDC pilot by the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus first surfaced in April 2023. Pavel Kallaur, the National Bank’s chairman, disclosed that a firm decision regarding the CBDC would be determined “at the state head level” by the end of 2023. In July 2023, the National Bank's deputy chairman, Dmitriy Kalethichts, affirmed the country’s intention of designating CBDC as legal tender. He added that the CBDC, referred to as the “digital ruble,” could potentially be employed in international trade with Russia, which is running parallel trials for its own CBDC, similarly labeled “digital ruble.” In May 2023, Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko and Elvira Nabiullina, the Central Bank of Russia’s chairman, held talks centered around the digital ruble as part of the discourse exploring a common currency for the two nations. Concurrently, the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been devising legal reforms prohibiting peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions involving cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin since last year, attributing their decision to a surge in cybercrime within the country. Lawmakers maintain that digital currency P2P services are attractive to con artists seeking to launder and convert illegally obtained funds and transferring them to crime perpetrators or accomplices. Beginning from 2024, various countries including Japan, Cambodia, and UAE have declared further advancements in their exploration or application of CBDCs.
Published At
1/31/2024 1:28:45 PM
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