Russia says it will halt foreign currency purchases and launch a digital ruble to keep the currency from spiraling further

• Russia is scrambling to keep its ruble from falling further in value.
• The nation’s central bank announced it would stop foreign currency purchases through the end of 2023.
• It has also begun to pilot program for a digital ruble in an attempt to prop up its currency.

Russia is halting its purchases of foreign currencies, and is launching a digital version of its ruble as it scrambles to prevent its currency from spiraling even further as war drags on in Ukraine.

The nation will no longer purchase currencies on the global market from August 10 through the end of the year, Russia’s central bank said in a statement on Wednesday. It will, however, continue to sell foreign currencies located in its sovereign wealth fund worth up to 2.3 billion rubles or $23 million dollars a day, which it has been using to help fund its war against Ukraine.