Russia's Finance Ministry finally gets paid in the currency it regulates 💸

Russia's Ministry of Finance confirmed Friday that a portion of its employees received their wages in digital rubles on Thursday, Oct. 1, marking the first time the central bank's digital currency has been used to pay out salaries at the ministry. Participation in the program, which is available to Russian citizens on a voluntary basis, was not quantified by the ministry, and the total value of digital rubles disbursed as wages was not disclosed.

The ministry said it has applied infrastructure tested during 2025 federal budget spending trials, during which about 16 million digital rubles ($192,245) was distributed. Work to integrate the digital ruble into the budget process is being carried out jointly by the Bank of Russia and the Ministry of Finance, according to the press release.

The digital ruble's rollout began on Sept. 1, when major Russian banks and retail companies began enabling transactions with the currency, as Cointelegraph reported on July 2. Initially, the central bank digital currency is accepted by financial and credit institutions and is designed to complement Russia's existing fiat ruble, according to Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti.

Development of the digital ruble began in 2021. The currency was targeted by preemptive restrictions from European Union authorities, which announced sanctions on the digital ruble in April as part of a package the European Council said was a response to Russia's "war of aggression against Ukraine," a conflict that began in February 2022.

Separately, Russian officials have proposed allowing exchange-based trading of $BTC, $ETH and Tether's USDT, according to earlier reporting. The digital ruble salary program, meanwhile, represents a first step in applying the currency to routine government operations beyond pilot budget disbursements.