A Digital Ruble: A Civilist’s View of the Problem

Testing of a digital ruble platform conducted by the Bank of Russia actualizes the problem of determining the legal nature of a digital ruble and features of its civil law regime. Based on fundamental provisions of the civil law doctrine, the author explores an economic concept of the digital ruble presented by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation; from a civilistic standpoint, the author examines the relationship between the concepts of «digital ruble», «digital money», «currency», «cryptocurrency», «digital financial asset». The paper justifies the fallacy of legal judgments in the interpretation of the digital ruble as a new form of money — as a form of the ruble and as a form of the Russian national currency. Comparing provisions of the Concept with the prescriptions concerning digital currency under Federal Law No. 259-FZ dated 31 July 2020, the author substantiates a number of conclusions: the digital ruble exists in a special material form as digits and other signs on a special material carrier — special computer systems controlled by special programs in the form of a digital platform; in the legal sense, digital rubles mean digital non-cash funds — rights of claim arising on the basis of an agreement for opening and maintaining a digital wallet and acting as an element of the content of the legal relationship between the bank and the customer — a holder of a digital wallet for cashless settlements. The approach proposed by the Bank of Russia to introduce the digital ruble into property circulation has much in common with the model of settlements implemented in practice using electronic wallets and prepaid smart cards. The digital ruble as a non-cash monetary means (in digital form) acts as a property (obligation) right and falls under the civil law qualification of a digital right and its varieties.