Digital Gold Ruble as an Alternative to the Dollar

The paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of the third form of Russian currency that is currently being tested by the Bank of Russia — the digital ruble. The research methodology is based on the postulates of liberalism and the concepts of the Austrian school of Economics. Correlation and regression analysis were chosen as the research tools. The purpose of this article is to support the need to expand the monetary functions of the digital ruble that is being created by the Bank of Russia. According to its creators, it should become a convenient payment method. However, in order to accelerate the innovative growth of the Russian economy and overcome the currency blockade of the Russian Federation by unfriendly countries, the author proposes to strengthen the monetary functions of the Russian digital ruble as a store of value and a world currency. To achieve this goal, it is suggested to back the digital ruble with gold reserves. This proposal was made based on a statistical analysis of the profitability and risk of several potential collateral assets. It was found that gold has an average annual return of 12% from 1971 to 2023. The paper concludes that gold is the best option for collateral because it has a stable, positive return and low risk of price fluctuation, as well as constant purchasing power. Therefore, the creation of a digital ruble backed by gold seems quite realistic and economically justified. Such a third form of the Russian currency, which combines the best features of cryptocurrencies, paper money, and commodity money, could potentially create real competition for the US dollar in the Eurasian region.

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