Russia rushes digital ruble alongside restrictive crypto regulation

Russian authorities are gearing up to soon put the digital ruble in test mode, announced the head of the executive power in Moscow.

The news coincides with preparations to adopt a law, which, while legalizing cryptocurrencies, will also subject operations with them to strict control by the state.

Russian government to begin testing the digital ruble

The federal government in Russia will start trials with the digital ruble in real use, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced in front of lawmakers.

Testing of the state-issued coin will commence in the near future and will be carried out together with the country’s central bank and finance ministry.

Mishustin broke the news in a speech to members of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, who are currently reviewing his cabinet’s annual report.

Quoted by the official TASS news agency and Interfax, the Russian premier stated:

Mishustin stressed “this is a complex matter,” adding authorities should be “extremely careful.” They must first build the necessary infrastructure and then assess transactions before determining the “volumes and methods of using it,” he elaborated.

The digital version of the ruble is a central bank digital currency (CBDC) issued by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR). It’s the third form of national fiat, after cash and electronic “bank” money.

It has been in the making for several years now, with a pilot involving a limited number of participants underway since August 2023.

Its release for public use was initially planned for mid-2025 but was later postponed by a year. Following a call from President Putin for mass adoption last spring, Russia’s monetary authority scheduled its launch for the fall of 2026.

According to the latest timetable, the digital ruble will be introduced in several stages, with the first one starting on September 1, when major banks and merchants must be ready to offer their clients the option the use the CBDC.

Universal banks and smaller trading companies, those with annual revenues exceeding 30 million rubles (over $390,000), will have another year to configure their systems to process digital ruble transactions.

The remaining banking institutions and firms with an annual revenue below that threshold should be able to work with digital rubles on September 1, 2028.

The only category exempted from this obligation will be that of retail outlets with revenues of less than 5 million rubles a year ($65,000).

Russia hurries with digital ruble launch and crypto regulations

Moscow’s latest push to bring its CBDC project closer to realization comes amid efforts to legalize and regulate operations with decentralized digital money as well.

Earlier on Wednesday, Russian media reported that the finance ministry and the central bank have already drafted a law outlining the future architecture of the Russian crypto market.

The document, seen by the business news portal RBC, aims to legalize an array of activities with digital assets, such as investment and trading.

This should be done by July 1, in accordance with a plan to recognize cryptocurrencies and stablecoins as “monetary assets” published by the CBR in late December.

At the same time, the bill introduces a number of restrictions, including a $4,000 cap on crypto purchases for non-qualified investors and rigorous standards for service providers that are likely to limit options for Russian citizens.

For example, domestic platforms will have to meet minimum capital requirements while global exchanges may be blocked, unless they establish a presence in the country by registering a local subsidiary and storing client data on servers inside Russia.

While Russian officials have been pushing the digital ruble, a report revealed earlier in February that the CBDC system has not necessarily been spared the strict treatment, given the Bank of Russia’s recently updated rules for opening digital ruble accounts.