The Central Bank of Russia is testing the smart contract functionality of digital ruble in Tatarstan

News on March 18th, the Central Bank of Russia has invited the Republic of Tatarstan to assist in testing the smart contract functionality of the digital ruble. The Ministry of Finance of Tatarstan has established a working group that will use the central bank's testing platform for conditional targeted expenditure experiments, with tests expected to conclude in the third quarter of 2025.

A month earlier, the Russian Central Bank had "indefinitely postponed" its nationwide promotion plan for digital rubles originally scheduled for August this year, but this test indicates that the digital ruble project is still underway. Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina stated that a new launch date would be announced later.

Meanwhile, Moscow Metro also announced an expansion of its digital ruble pilot program and is cooperating with VTB Bank and Central Bank to test recharging Troika smart cards using digital rubles. These developments are similar to China's Digital Yuan pilot projects; however, Russia previously stated one main function of their digital Ruble was facilitating cross-border payments between Russian businesses and other countries using digitized legal tender.