On Friday, the Russian Ministry of Finance announced that a group of its personnel had been compensated with digital rubles for the initial time.
Receiving compensation through the central bank’s digital asset is optional for Russian residents, and the rollout commenced on Thursday, Oct. 1, as noted in a press release from the Ministry of Finance.
The department refrained from revealing the exact headcount of individuals compensated in the digital token or the aggregate payroll sum.
During federal expenditure tests throughout 2025, approximately 16 million digital rubles, equivalent to $192,245, were distributed, prompting the ministry to integrate these tested infrastructures into its internal payroll workflow, according to the statement.
Efforts regarding the integration of the digital ruble into budgetary operations are being conducted cooperatively by the Bank of Russia and the Ministry of Finance, the announcement added.
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Cointelegraph previously reported on July 2 that the country intended to introduce the central bank digital currency on Sept. 1, a date when prominent banks and commercial enterprises started supporting transactions utilizing the novel currency.
The digital currency was designed to function alongside Russia’s traditional fiat ruble, starting out accepted across financial and lending organizations, as reported by Russian state-run media agency RIA Novosti during that period.
The digital ruble, which commenced development back in 2021, faced preventive penalties from European Union officials who announced limitations targeting the currency in April.
The European Council stated that these punitive measures were enacted in reaction to Russia’s military offensive against Ukraine initiated in February 2022.
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Originally published at https://cointelegraph.com/news/russias-finance-ministry-pays-wages-in-digital-rubles-for-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound.
