Russia is Expected to Legalize Cryptocurrency Usage in International Trade 

Despite pursuing policies that were initially hostile towards cryptocurrencies, the Bank of Russia and the Ministry of Finance are beginning to reverse course by softening their positions on cryptocurrencies. In this case, specifically, the Russian government is moving towards legalizing the use of cryptocurrencies in international trade.

Earlier this week, Russian-state affiliated outlet TASS reported that the Russian government is taking steps to legalize cryptocurrency usage in cross-border settlements.

Per the TASS report, the two government entities reached the conclusion that “it is impossible” to continue Russia’s present trade arrangements — at a time when it’s being heavily sanctioned by the Collective West — without allowing cryptocurrencies to be legal payment methods for international trade.

In the present, Russia is looking for alternative payment methods to the dollar. NAMCIOS of Bitcoin Magazine reported that in March, Pavel Zavalny, the chairman of Russia’s Congressional energy committee, said that Russia was willing to receive payments for natural gas and other natural resource exports in bitcoin.

“When it comes to our ‘friendly’ countries, like China or Turkey, which don’t pressure us, then we have been offering them for a while to switch payments to national currencies, like rubles and yuan,” Zavalny previously remarked. “With Turkey, it can be lira and rubles. So there can be a variety of currencies, and that’s a standard practice. If they want bitcoin, we will trade in bitcoin.”

Back in May, Russia was allegedly in the process of “actively discussing” the use of cryptocurrency in international commerce .

As NAMCIOS observed, this latest announcement by the Russian  Central Bank and energy ministry represents a marked contrast from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s previous statements where he dismissed the possibility of the Russian state embracing a limited form of Bitcoin adoption during an interview at the Russian Energy Week event that was held in Moscow

“I believe that it has value,” Putin declared at the event, making a reference to bitcoin. “But I don’t believe it can be used in the oil trade.”

Per TASS, the regulatory framework needed to facilitate cross-border settlements in cryptocurrency in Russia has yet to be put forward.

Should Russia follow through with normalizing Bitcoin in international trade, it could be a significant move towards undermining US dollar hegemony. The most revolutionary moves in geopolitics won’t be carried out on the battlefield. They will take place online through voluntary transactions that dis-intermediate the global fiat system.

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