Waiting for AI – Newspaper Kommersant No. 24 (7469) dated 02/09/2023

On February 8, Rosbank celebrated Science Day in an original way by demonstrating a successful experiment in selling digital gold for digital rubles. After the conclusion of the transaction, the buyer settles with the investor in digital rubles. The transfer of ownership of the CFA and the fact of payment “are reflected in the personal accounts of the investor and the buyer”, while “the token will be stored in a special registry,” the bank explains.

The experiment remains a purely scientific phenomenon so far, since the Atomize platform (the first of four to be included in the register of the Central Bank in two years) currently does not have active DFAs and a prototype released last year participated in the demonstration. In turn, the buyer also paid with a prototype digital ruble – the experiment with the real digital currency of the Central Bank is planned to begin only in April of this year (see Kommersant on February 3).

Bankers believe that “the deal demonstrates the growing interest in digital financial assets.” However, the presence of such an interest on the part of citizens in conditions where they have the opportunity not only to open metal accounts (see Kommersant of October 5, 2022), but also buy bars without paying VAT (see Kommersant of December 16, 2022 years) remains to be seen.

For comparison: last year, CFA issues for precious metals (in a wide range – from gold to ruthenium) on the Atomize platform were limited to 0.6 kg in total for about 2.5 million rubles. Since December last year, Sberbank has been implementing a larger issue on its own platform (CFA for 150 kg of gold). However, even after two months, the bank is in no hurry to open the results.

Even more hypothetical is the interest of citizens in the digital ruble. The state is rather interested in this tool, including for controlling targeted payments – in particular, social benefits for medicines, baby food, and the like. But CFAs, even backed by gold, are unlikely to be included in the list.

I would joke that such a deal might be of interest to artificial intelligence (for example, from Sberbank and Yandex). But they are also still in development. Or, continuing (not the most serious) logic, such an operation could be carried out by a virtual buyer and a virtual seller using their digital profile. But under the auspices of the Ministry of Digital Development, only an experiment on its creation has been going on for the third year.

In the real world, it may take more than one year to realize the significance of this week’s event in the financial virtual world. Confidence appeared only in one thing – the tool exists and works. But whether it will be more useful than buying a metal bitcoin for cash remains to be seen.