Russian Banks ‘Fighting Back’ Against Digital Ruble – Report Russian banks are reportedly “fighting back” against the digital ruble amid claims a CBDC launch would cost them $684 million a year. Per a report from Comnews, even the Central Bank’s commercial bank partners are “looking for ways” to “avoid” dealing with the coin and “preserve” the banking status quo. The report pointed to a development from VTB Bank, which this month announced a new solution that lets CBDC owners convert their token...

Russians Will Be Able to ‘Withdraw’ Digital Rubles as Cash at ATMs A major Russian bank has created a solution that lets digital ruble holders perform real-time “withdrawal”-type cash conversions at ATMs. Per Izvestia, VTB Bank has developed a solution that lets CBDC holders instantly convert their digital rubles to banknotes at any of the bank’s 14,000 ATMS “throughout Russia.” The bank presented its new CBDC solution at the recent Finopolis 2023 fintech forum. VTB said the service would initia...

India’s Central Bank Governor Warns Crypto Poses Higher Risk to Emerging Markets Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has once again warned about the threats that cryptocurrencies pose to global financial stability, particularly for emerging market economies. Speaking at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2023 in Mumbai, Das stressed the importance of dealing with cryptocurrencies responsibly. RBI Governor Highlights Risks Associated With Crypto Das highlighted the poten...

Georgia National Bank Partners with Ripple to Host New Digital Lari CBDC Pilot – Adoption on the Rise? The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has partnered with Ripple as the official technology provider for its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pushing for a pilot in the near term. In a Nov 2 press release, blockchain payment firm Ripple announced that it has been selected to power the Digital Lari following a competitive process. Today, we announce a partnership with the National Bank of Georgi...