The Association of Banks of Russia called for the development of new instruments of international settlements

Russia needs to develop new international settlement tools in the face of external pressure, says Olga Goncharova, an international expert in the field of cryptocurrencies, head of the expert center of the Association of Banks of Russia on digital financial assets and digital currencies.

"It is important for us to make settlements with our international partners not only in the usual traditional tools, especially since our traditional rails are suffering now, but to develop new tools," Goncharova said at the eighth practical conference "Digital Assets in Russia: new bridges of investment and settlement."

According to her, in the coming years, several models will compete in the digital settlement market: central bank digital currencies, stablecoins, cryptocurrencies and tokenized deposits. Goncharova named the ruble-denominated A7A5 stablecoin as one example.

The development of these tools will depend not only on the position of regulators, but also on the demand from market participants. "The market votes on capitalization, liquidity, and user experience, and it also largely determines the future of digital finance," the expert emphasized.

According to her estimates, the use of digital tools is especially important in the context of the export agenda — for settlements with international partners, as well as for the work of institutions supporting foreign economic activity, such as the Russian Export Center.

Digital Assets in Russia Conference: new Bridges of investment and settlement" took place on June 23 in Moscow. The A7 company acted as a partner of the event. Representatives of the Ministry of Finance, Rosfinmonitoring, the Bank of Russia, the Russian Export Center, banks, CFA operators, fintech companies, and rating agencies took part in the discussion.