title: Increasing State Capacity through Central Bank Digital Currencies. A comparative account of the digital yuan and digital ruble.
abstract: Central banks all over the world are considering the issuance of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Amidst heightened geopolitical contestation that increasingly manifests itself in and through financial infrastructures, the issue also has vital political and economic importance. A look at the developments and rationales behind CBDC projects not only sheds light on the perceived geopolitical trends and strategies to navigate them but also informs an understanding of state capitalisms by ill