Russian Central Bank: Digital ruble to be launched in 2026

According to Chaincatcher and Bitcoin.Com, Anna Katamadze, the Deputy Governor of the Russian Central Bank, announced that the digital ruble payment network is scheduled to launch in 2026, allowing citizens to make payments using the central bank platform wallet at that time. This timeline is earlier than the industry's previous expectation of 2027. Technical test progress shows that currently 15 banks, 1,700 citizens, and approximately 30 enterprises are participating in the pilot. Although the originally planned deployment was postponed in March, the Central Bank Governor Nabiullina emphasized that the delay was not related to pilot progress. Notably, the Russian government has begun to incorporate the digital ruble into budget payment and subsidy distribution systems to enhance fund transfer transparency.