Bank of Russia Sets Digital Ruble Deadline for Mass Adoption (Bitcoin.com)
The Bank of Russia submitted a phased rollout plan to the State Duma requiring banks and merchants to comply with digital ruble regulations starting September 1, 2026. More specifically, merchants that are clients of the largest banks and whose revenue for the previous year exceeds 120 million rubles will have to enable payments for goods and services in digital rubles. Universal license banks and their merchant clients with annual turnover above 30 million rubles must integrate digital ruble systems by September 1, 2027. All remaining banks and sellers—excluding those with revenue below 5 million rubles—must follow suit by September 1, 2028. The digital ruble will operate via a universal QR code system powered by the National Payment Card System. [Read more at Tass]
DLT Pilot Regime: ESMA Proposes Flexible Thresholds, Permanent Regime (Ledger Insights)
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a report on its Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Pilot Regime, providing an overview of the EU market for authorized DLT market infrastructures and recommendations on how to expand Regime participation. Despite an initially limited uptake, the Regime is now seeing growing interest from potential applicants. The regulator suggests removing the current six year limit that requires platforms to eventually wind down their operations. The authority also wants to revisit restrictive thresholds, including the €6 billion platform issuance cap and €500 million market capitalization limit for equity issuers. The scope of permitted instruments could also expand beyond the current vanilla equity, bonds and funds. For settlement, ESMA prefers maintaining central bank money as the primary method, with stricter thresholds applied when platforms use stablecoins or electronic money tokens due to perceived higher risks. [Read more at ESMA]
Bank of Korea Deputy Governor Says Desirable to Introduce Stablecoins Gradually (Reuters)
Bank of Korea Senior Deputy Governor Ryoo Sang-dai said it was desirable to introduce won-denominated stablecoins at a gradual pace, first with commercial banks and then gradually to the nonbanks with the experience. Ryoo said introducing stablecoins could have a significant impact on monetary policy and the transaction settlement system, as he echoed earlier concerns about capital flows raised by Governor Rhee Chang-yong and noted the need for a safety net to prevent financial market disorder and ensure user protection. [Read more at Reuters]
Value of Interoperability in Growing Retail Digital Payments (IMF)
The IMF published a paper that examines the benefits of interoperability in retail digital payment systems, focusing on India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI). It highlights how interoperability allows users to transact seamlessly across different apps, enhancing user choice by enabling them to select preferred apps based on trust, features, or reliability. This freedom fosters competition among providers, incentivizing innovation and quality improvements. The paper presents evidence consistent with this framework using granular UPI payments data. It shows that interoperability has indeed led to higher adoption of digital payments, reduced reliance on cash, and prevented market dominance by a single provider. The study also underscores the importance of regulatory vigilance to maintain a competitive and open system. [Read more at the IMF]
What Makes Good Money? Rethinking Stablecoins in Light of BIS Criticism (Michel Rauchs)
Michel Rauchs criticized the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) recent broad condemnation of stablecoins, arguing that the BIS conflates different issues such as functionality, elasticity, and integrity. Rauchs defends stablecoins as effective forms of money in certain contexts, especially in the Global South and crypto-native markets, citing their growing role in cross-border remittances and decentralized finance. He challenges the BIS’s framing of elasticity by contrasting bank credit creation with stablecoin-backed liquidity, and he questions whether “integrity” should be used as a criterion for monetary quality. The discussion in the comments, involving experts like Aleksi Grym, Rhys Bidder, Patrick McConnell, and Colin Shields, expands on these themes—debating BIS methodology, the systemic risks of stablecoins, and the evolving definition of money. While most agree on the risks and limitations of stablecoins, several commenters argue that BIS analysis is too narrow or outdated and that the current monetary system’s own shortcomings must be acknowledged. [Read more on LinkedIn]
Upcoming Speaking Engagements:
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