Russian state-owned manufacturing conglomerate Rostec, best known for its role in the country’s military-industrial complex, plans to roll out a ruble-pegged token called RUBx alongside a payment hub dubbed RT-Pay before year-end.
Each RUBx, according to state-owned news agency TASS, will represent one Russian ruble held in a treasury account. Rostec will run the token as the sole issuer and operator, anchoring the asset’s value through “real obligations in rubles” written into law.
The token is set to be based on the Tron blockchain. Rostec intends to post the contract code on GitHub and has tapped blockchain-security firm CertiK for an independent audit, the report adds.
RT-Pay will plug straight into the country’s banking rails. That link lets companies and private citizens move money in seconds, even after business hours, or lock funds in smart contracts.
Rostec says RT-Pay, which will be integrated with the country’s banking rails, meets anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism rules and complies with Bank of Russia requirements.
A phased launch will target sectors with high payment friction first, then expand, RUBx project Dmitry Shumayev reportedly said.
The project lands as Moscow tests a separate digital ruble issued by the central bank. The country has been warming up to the cryptocurrency space, with the Bank of Russia earlier this year allowing institutions to offer crypto-linked instruments to qualified investors.
Russia’s largest bank Sberbank and Moscow Exchange have already launched products tied to bitcoin (BTC).
Cryptocurrencies have also been used to circumvent Western sanctions on Russia’s oil trade. Reports suggest some Russian oil firms have used BTC, ETH, and some stablecoins to convert payments made in Chinese yuan and Indian rupees into rubles.
Read more: Russia Turns to Crypto to Bypass Western Sanctions in Oil Trade: Reuters