Faced with global sanctions, Russia has considered expanding its use of cryptocurrency to avoid traditional payment systems. Russia is developing a digital platform that will allow it to use commodity-backed stablecoins to settle cross-border transactions with more friendly countries.
Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Moiseyev confirmed on September 6 that Russia is working with crypto-friendly countries to facilitate cross-border payments using stablecoins as US and UK sanctions mount.
The Finance Minister and the Central Bank had previously agreed that Russia could not function without cryptocurrency cross-border settlements. As a result, Russia is developing a digital platform that will allow it to use commodity-backed stablecoins to settle cross-border transactions with more friendly countries.
Moiseyev said:
“We are currently working with a number of countries to create bilateral platforms in order not to use dollars and euros. We offer mutually acceptable tokenized instruments that will be used on these platforms, which are essentially clearing platforms that we are currently developing with these countries.”
Moiseyev went on to say that the plan is to create a stablecoin that will be pegged to recognized assets such as gold, making the value “clear and observable for all participants.” The increased sanctions against Russia have left the country with no choice but to investigate alternative payment methods based on stablecoins.
Earlier, Russia’s Central Bank and Ministry of Finance agreed that a low-risk stablecoin could suffice as global sanctions pile up. Ivan Chebeskov, the Minister of Finance, argued that a viable stablecoin could be backed by the Russian ruble or any physical assets such as gold, oil, or grain to guarantee face-value redemptions.
The Russian Ministry of Finance has been working to make the country more crypto-friendly as it has proven to be an effective tool for evading sanctions. In April, the Finance Ministry was said to be working on a bill “on digital currency,” which would legalize cryptocurrency as a form of payment and validate it as an investment class.
A senior official from Russia’s Central Bank also stated that the country is open to the use of cryptocurrencies for international payments.
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