Russia's Finance Ministry pays employee wages in digital rubles for first time
Key Takeaways
- •Russia's Ministry of Finance has become one of the first employers in the country to pay salaries in digital rubles, with some staff receiving wages in the central bank digital currency for the first time.
- •Payment in digital rubles became available to Russian citizens on a voluntary basis starting Oct. 1, though the ministry did not reveal how many employees participated or the payroll total.
- •Approximately 16 million digital rubles, or about $192,245, was disbursed during federal budget spending trials in 2025, and the ministry has applied those tested payment rails to its salary process.
- •The Bank of Russia and the Ministry of Finance are working to introduce the digital ruble into the federal budget process, which the government has identified as the currency's next area of use.
- •The digital ruble, under development since 2021 and enabled for transactions by major banks and retailers on Sept. 1, was targeted by preemptive EU sanctions in April as part of the bloc's 20th sanctions package.
Some employees at Russia's Ministry of Finance have received their salaries in digital rubles for the first time, the ministry said on Friday.
Being paid in the central bank's digital currency became available to Russian citizens on a voluntary basis beginning Oct. 1, according to a Ministry of Finance press release. With the move, the ministry has become one of the first employers in the country to pay wages in the state-issued currency, effectively turning its own salary procedure into a live demonstration of the technology.
The ministry did not disclose how many employees were paid in the digital currency or the total payroll amount.
During federal budget spending trials in 2025, about 16 million digital rubles ($192,245) was disbursed, and the ministry said it has now applied those proven rails to its own salary procedure. Work on introducing the digital ruble into the budget process is being carried out by the Bank of Russia together with the Ministry of Finance, according to the release, making the federal budget process the currency's next stated area of government use.
Cointelegraph reported on July 2 that Russia planned to launch the central bank digital currency on Sept. 1, when major banks and retail companies began enabling transactions with the new currency. The digital ruble was to launch as a complement to Russia's fiat currency, the ruble, and would initially be accepted by financial and credit institutions, Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti was cited as reporting at the time. Unlike cryptocurrencies, a central bank digital currency is issued by the state: the digital ruble is issued and operated by the Bank of Russia and is designed to circulate alongside cash and bank deposits as a third form of the national currency.
The digital ruble, whose development began in 2021, was targeted by preemptive sanctions from European Union authorities, who announced restrictions on the currency in April. The restrictions formed part of the EU's 20th sanctions package, which the bloc said also targeted trade and financial services, including crypto. The European Council said the sanctions package was in response to Russia's "war of aggression against Ukraine," which it started in February 2022.
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