Russia offers digital ruble while keeping Bitcoin payments illegal

Russia has allowed transactions using its central bank digital currency, the digital ruble, since September 1, according to a report by Tass. Citing remarks by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Tass said the digital ruble was part of developing a convenient, fast and independent payment infrastructure. Russia has moved quickly to regulate digital assets this year. In August, President Vladimir Putin signed a law regulating digital currencies and digital rights. The law says only registered entities can operate as exchanges. It limits retail investors to trading Bitcoin and other liquid cryptocurrencies worth no more than 300,000 rubles ($3,556) per year. Qualified investors have no restrictions. Using cryptocurrency for payments has been illegal in Russia since 2022. Putin said in 2024 that nobody could ban Bitcoin or prohibit the use of other electronic payment instruments because they are new technologies. He also said Russia had competitive advantages for Bitcoin mining because of its abundant cheap energy. Central bank digital currencies are issued by central banks and are centralized forms of digital money. Bitcoin supporters have criticized them on the grounds that governments could use them to monitor citizens and control their spending. In 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order prohibiting federal agencies from establishing, issuing or promoting a central bank digital currency. The digital ruble is described as a means of keeping citizens under government control. The Bank of Russia chose a hybrid architecture combining a centralized ledger under its control with distributed-ledger components. A 2021 concept described that model, and the full technical details have not been published. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in 2024 that companies were using Bitcoin payments for international transactions to counter Western sanctions.