What’s the newest talk of the town? Russia’s big idea, the ruble-backed stablecoin. Sounds familiar, right?

Like a Russian version of Tether, maybe way too similar. But before you get excited, let’s just say, this ain’t gonna be a walk in Gorky Park.

Requirements

Sergey Mendeleev, a guy who knows his way around digital settlements, steps up with a list, seven must-haves for a real Tether replica.

You want a ruble stablecoin that actually works? Listen up! First, transactions gotta be untraceable. You want privacy?

No snooping, no paper trail. Second, forget those tedious KYC checks. Mendeleev says people should be able to use it without handing over their life story.

But here’s the rub, Russia’s laws want everything above board, which means this dream stablecoin is already on thin ice.

Mendeleev’s got more. He wants the coin overcollateralized, like DAI, so every ruble is backed by more than just promises.

Something you can check on-chain, not stashed away in some shady account. Liquidity? He wants it flowing on every exchange, centralized or not. If you need to swap your ruble coin at 2 a.m., you better be able to do it.

Features

Earn interest just by holding the thing-smart contracts take care of that. And, of course, transactions should be cheap and impossible to block or freeze.

Sounds like a dream, right? But the last point, compliance with Russian law, is where the whole plan starts to look like a bad joke. Mendeleev himself admits, it’s unlikely.

“We’re heading for more centralization, not freedom. More bans, not more choices.”

Technically, most of this is doable. Projects like A7A5 and DAI already tick some of these boxes.

But nobody’s put it all together in one neat package. And let’s not kid ourselves, the real challenge isn’t tech. It’s trust. If Russians don’t believe in this coin, it’s dead on arrival.

CBDC

But on the other hand, the government’s got its own plan, the digital ruble. The Bank of Russia is rolling out its central bank digital currency, with big banks forced to play along by July 2025.

Businesses have to start accepting it, and the whole system is getting a legal makeover to make sure nobody’s left out.

The digital ruble is supposed to be fee-free, easy to use, and totally above board.

But most people don’t even know what a digital ruble is. A new survey says nearly two-thirds of Russians are in the dark, clueless.

Some think it’s just another Bitcoin. So while the suits talk about revolutionizing payments, the average Ivan is still scratching his head.

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