Russian CBDC by 2025? What’s happening with the digital ruble

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation’s (CBR) central bank digital currency (CBDC) project has been developing rapidly. The first news about the initiative appeared in 2020, and a regulatory bill was introduced in 2022, which has now passed through its final reading in the parliament’s lower chamber, the Duma.

However, the final rollout of the “digital ruble” among the general public will not happen until 2025–2027, as CBR First Deputy Governor Olga Skorobogatova recently revealed.

The timeline still looks optimistic in the global context. According to a recent PwC report, only about 24 CBDCs may be live by 2030. But for a country actively seeking ways to trade internationally under heavy financial sanctions, such timing may feel relatively slow.

Ups and downs of the digital ruble

In 2017, the CBR announced its interest in exploring the idea of a digital currency. At the time, Skorobogatova emphasized that developing a CBDC was a priority and that the CBR would investigate soon. However, the bank’s governor, Elvira Nabiullina, didn’t consider it a top priority and regarded it as something to be explored in the medium to long term.

In 2022, the CBR revealed it planned to introduce the digital ruble across all banks in the country by 2024. It explained that the implementation would be done in stages and involve extensive testing and infrastructure development. According to the central bank, the digital ruble would coexist with traditional cash and non-cash payment systems, giving consumers more flexibility in their transactions.

In February 2023, Skorobogatova made a public announcement regarding the first consumer pilot of the digital ruble, scheduled to commence on April 1, 2023. The trial would include the participation of 13 local banks, numerous merchants and real consumers.

That same month, Gazprombank, a banking subsidiary of state-owned energy corporation Gazprom and one of the pilot’s participants, publicly proposed giving banks more time before implementing the CBDC.

Indeed, the bank’s concerns were understandable, as one report from auditing firm McKinsey estimates that Russian banks could lose $3.5 billion in commissions and fees in five years to a CBDC.

The pilot’s launch was eventually delayed along with the passage of the digital ruble bill in the Duma.

The amended bill establishes key legal definitions such as “platform,” “participants” and…