Russia’s Digital Ruble Passes Secret Trials as Kremlin Eyes CBDC Rollout

Key Takeaways

• Russia completed the first phase of digital ruble testing in late 2024.
• The finance ministry says a full-scale CBDC pilot will begin in July 2025, with over 15 financial institutions participating.
• Russia has embraced crypto for sanctions relief while advancing CBDC development.

Russia has quietly completed the initial phase of testing for its central bank digital currency (CBDC) , signaling the Kremlin’s push toward a digital ruble.

Russia Secretly Tested Digital Ruble

According to an RBC report , the Bank of Russia, the Ministry of Finance, and the Treasury carried out closed-door digital ruble trials in late 2024, testing its integration within the country’s budgetary system.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov confirmed that the government is exploring various applications for the digital ruble but emphasized there are no immediate plans to mandate its use.

“The implementation of any government payments to the population in digital rubles,” Siluanov said in a press briefing, suggesting that state transactions could soon incorporate the CBDC.

Unlike cash and bank deposits, the digital ruble will serve as a third official form of Russian currency—issued directly by the central bank and existing alongside traditional fiat and non-cash payments.

Full-Scale Pilot, Coming Soon

Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, said the next phase of the CBDC pilot may take place in Chuvashia, where the government could allocate digital ruble funding for select projects.

The pilot program involves 15 major institutions, including Sberbank, VTB, and Alfa-Bank. With the initial phase completed, Russia plans to expand testing in mid-2025, allowing all participating banks to use the digital ruble for transactions starting July 1.

Russia’s digital ruble push comes as the country increasingly turns to crypto to navigate Western sanctions. In 2023, Moscow made significant regulatory strides in legitimizing Bitcoin mining and cross-border crypto payments.

However, as the United States under the Trump administration moves in a different direction— banning CBDC development outright —Russia appears to be accelerating its state-backed digital currency efforts.

While embracing crypto for international trade, the Kremlin remains committed to strengthening central bank control over domestic financial transactions.