MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian companies have begun using bitcoin and other digital currencies in international payments after legislative changes allowed such use to counter Western sanctions, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Wednesday.
The sanctions have complicated Russia's trade with key partners such as China or Türkiye, as local banks are extremely cautious about Russia-related transactions to avoid scrutiny by Western regulators.
This year, Russia allowed the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign trade and took steps to make cryptocurrency mining, including Bitcoin, legal. Russia is one of the world's leading countries in Bitcoin mining.
“As part of the pilot system, it is possible to use bitcoins, which we have mined here in Russia (in foreign trade transactions),” Siluanov told Russia 24 TV channel.
“Such transactions are already happening. We believe that they should be expanded and developed further. I am confident that this will happen in the next year,” he said, adding that international payments with digital currencies represent the future.
Earlier this month, President Vladimir Putin said that the current US administration was working to undermine the role of the US dollar as a reserve currency by using it for political purposes, forcing many countries to turn to alternative assets.
He singled out Bitcoin as an example of such an asset, saying that no one in the world could regulate Bitcoin. Putin's statements indicated that the Russian leader supports the extensive use of cryptocurrencies.
