{
  "id": 11871397,
  "title": "Russia’s Finance Ministry pays wages in digital rubles for first time",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/russias-finance-ministry-pays-wages-in-digital-rubles-for-first-time",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-04T07:16:53.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Cointelegraph",
    "slug": "cointelegraph",
    "url": "https://cointelegraph.com/news/russias-finance-ministry-pays-wages-in-digital-rubles-for-first-time"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Russia's Finance Ministry has initiated the payment of wages in digital rubles for the first time, according to a press release from the ministry on Friday. The Bank of Russia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, is responsible for the introduction of the digital ruble to the budget process. The Ministry of Finance announced that some of its employees have received their salaries in digital currency for the first time, with the option available to Russian citizens on a voluntary basis, starting on Thursday, October 1. The ministry did not disclose the number of participants or the total payroll amount paid in digital currency. During federal budget spending trials in 2025, approximately 16 million digital rubles (equivalent to $192,245) were disbursed, prompting the ministry to apply proven payment methods to its own salary procedure.",
  "summary": "Work on the introduction of the digital ruble to the budget process is being carried out by the Bank of Russia together with the Ministry of Finance.",
  "key_points": [
    "Russia's Finance Ministry pays wages in digital rubles for the first time.",
    "Bank of Russia and Ministry of Finance introduced digital currency to budget process.",
    "Voluntary digital salary option available to Russian citizens starting October 1."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}