Electronic money as a legal tender - Belarus will have its own digital ruble in 2025

Initially, the technology will be launched in test mode for settlements between legal entities, and then, in 2026, individuals may join it. It is also planned to actively use the digital currency for cross-border transactions.

The technology also has an anti-sanctions orientation, as it allows settlements with other countries that are developing their own digital currencies, bypassing, for example, the international SWIFT system.

Mikhail Demidenko, Deputy Head of the National Bank of Belarus:

“This is primarily decentralization of cross-border payments. The problem of the modern world is that all cross-border payments, all settlements, let's put it simply, between countries go through the banking systems of the issuers of major currencies - dollar and euro. The interaction between blockchain systems and central bank digital currency systems will not be centralized. There will not be one or a few centers that can manage the process.”

"This trend in the financial sector is happening. Now they try to make settlements largely in national currencies, bypassing the dollar and the euro. Therefore, this will be another technological breakthrough that will allow us to deal with our trading partners more easily," Demidenko emphasized.

The digital ruble is the third form of money, along with cash and non-cash. It is already actively used in China. Our EAEU partners - Russia and Kazakhstan - are also joining the technology.