Russia is leveraging Bitcoin and the upcoming Digital Ruble (CBDC) to bypass international sanctions
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- Russia will widely adopt a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the digital ruble, by July 2025.
- The digital ruble program began with pilot tests last year, including about 25,000 transactions and 600 participants from 12 commercial banks. Due to Russia's exclusion from the SWIFT payment system due to the country's military actions in 2022
- The use of the digital ruble will be voluntary and is expected to bring benefits such as free transfers and lower fees.
- Initial testing of the CBDC uncovered a number of bugs, contributing to low expectations with adoption challenges and social impact. Wider acceptance and integration into everyday life may take five to seven years.
