Russian Duma greenlights digital ruble

Pending approval from Vladimir Putin, the law will go into effect in less than a month on Aug. 1, 2023

article-image

Thirteen/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

According to multiple local media reports and the Russian government itself, the Duma has approved a law that will introduce a digital ruble. 

The Duma shepherded the law through the required three readings to advance it up the chain to the Federation Council and ultimately, President Vladimir Putin, according to the law’s text. 

Should Putin sign off on the law, it will make Russia the largest nation to officially adopt a central bank digital currency, or CBDC.

Discussions of a digital currency issued by the Russian state have been going on for years. Back in November 2021, Reuters reported on a pilot program that was set to debut in 2022. 

Over a year earlier in October 2020, the Bank of Russia, the country’s central bank, published a consultation paper studying the idea of a digital ruble

As put forth in that original consultation paper, the Bank of Russia will operate and organize the digital ruble platform, according to a press release from the Russian government. 

This comes as 93% of central banks have shown interest in exploring a CBDC in some form, according to a 2022 Bank of International Settlements survey. 

Eighty-six banks responded to that survey, but as of June, 130 countries have launched, are exploring or have canceled CBDC programs, according to the Atlantic Council CBDC tracker.

Nigeria is currently one of the largest nations by population to have actually established a CBDC. Despite its launch in October 2021, the eNaira did not receive a warm reception from Nigerians. Protests erupted and businesses faced closures in response to the launch of the eNaira and the ensuing restrictions on physical cash withdrawals.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Ethena Labs is leaping from its flagship synthetic dollar, USDe, to a full product suite—USDtb, iUSDe, and the Arbitrum-based Converge Chain—designed to marry crypto-native yields with TradFi-grade compliance. Our analysis shows how expanding into CME, ETF options, and tokenized Treasuries could lift protocol revenue from sub-$500 million in a bear case to several billion dollars if favorable regulation and institutional adoption align.

article-image

Doing one thing well and leaving everything else out is often what disruptive technologies do best

article-image

Why an analyst is kicking off COIN coverage with “buy” rating

article-image

“Bitcoin does not require a strong equity rally to move higher,” YouHodler markets chief Ruslan Lienkha said

article-image

President Trump’s comments that he will not look to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell sent stocks higher in after-hours trading Tuesday

article-image

The trading card game will use Immutable’s zkEVM chain