The Russian parliament has passed a bill that paves the way for the use of cryptocurrencies in international payments to circumvent Western sanctions. According to observers, the battle on the cryptocurrency “front” to block Russia’s economic efforts will certainly be fierce.
Used in international payments
The bill would allow the Bank of Russia (BOR) to create a pilot project to promote the use of cryptocurrencies in international payments, which has been banned to date. It would also strictly regulate the production of cryptocurrencies, with only state-licensed companies allowed to produce cryptocurrencies on a large scale. After the lower house gives the green light, the bill will need to be approved by the upper house and approved by the president to officially come into effect.
In the field of virtual currencies, in addition to currencies produced by enterprises such as bitcoin, according to the Russian news agency, BOR will move from pilot mode to widespread implementation of the use of electronic rubles from July 2025. BOR has been conducting a pilot project with the digital ruble since August 2023. Reuters quoted economist Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Russian State Duma, as saying that Moscow is making a historic decision in the financial sector.
According to some analysts, Moscow hopes that the use of cryptocurrencies in general will be less detectable by Western surveillance agencies, making it easier for Russia to buy goods on international markets that are banned from being sold to Russia.
Mati Greenspan, CEO of Quantum Economics (a company that specializes in researching the cryptocurrency market), emphasized that Russia believes that transactions, such as bitcoin, will not be blocked by any government or bank. According to BOR Governor Elvira Nabiullina, payments in cryptocurrency will start before the end of this year.
Accelerate the use of virtual currency
Can cryptocurrencies help countries circumvent sanctions? According to Greenspan, the use of cryptocurrencies in international payments will help Russia in this regard. Quantum Economics experts give some examples, such as North Korea has been repeatedly accused of raising millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies for many of Pyongyang's programs, or Iran has also been accused of using cryptocurrencies to bypass international trade barriers.
According to Elvira Nabiullina, it will take 5-7 years for the digital ruble to be widely adopted in society. Moscow is accelerating the use of virtual currency, partly due to the rapid advances in cryptocurrency technology, which are making this currency more and more widely used. On the other hand, the tightening of Western sanctions is forcing Russia to find a way out.
The BOR governor stressed that “secondary sanctions” made it more difficult to pay for imports and led to an 8% drop in imports into Russia this year.
The e-ruble is stored in an electronic wallet. Transactions with this currency are monitored by the Federal Security Service of Russia. During the test, users of the e-ruble can pay at 30 points of sale in 11 Russian cities.
According to BOR, these transactions are free for citizens, while businesses only have to pay a small fee. VTB, Russia's second-largest bank, said it has successfully tested transactions using the electronic ruble in its mobile application.
MINH CHAU synthesis
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/lach-trung-phat-bang-tien-dien-tu-post752457.html
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