Cryptocurrency may be bad for investors but it can be usable in international settlements, according to a topmost government official in Moscow. Russian authorities intend to set up a special committee that would issue permits to operators taking on crypto in foreign trade deals, he indicated.

Russia Plans to ‘Trial’ With Cross-Border Crypto Payments Amid Sanctions

Crypto assets can be utilized in certain scenarios, Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Moiseev noted during an economic forum in Moscow. talking at the “ Banks. Transformation. Economy. 2.0 ” conference, he was quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency as saying:

Of course, crypto is generally evil. I believe that people who invest their savings there take a very big risk … But there may be individual situations in which crypto can be used.

Moiseev produced it transparently he was referring to Russian foreign trade activities, which are presently restricted by Western sanctions. He similarly reminded that a draft law designed to rule this matter is still under consideration in the State Duma, the manor house of the Russian parliament.

“ We ’ll trial If the bill is embraced, a certain committee will be formed, involving representatives of a number of ministries, the Bank of Russia, and law enforcement agencies, which will offer an allowance to individual operators to utilize cryptocurrency in foreign trade deals, ” the high- ranking representative of the executive power elaborated.

Alexey Moiseev suggested that the legislative proceeding required to give the legal basis for the trials will probably be delayed until the end of the year. Government officials and lawmakers have been debating various aspects of Russia’s regulatory approach toward cryptocurrencies for quite some time.

Differences between the Russian Ministry of Finance, with its further liberal views on the issue, and the Central Bank of Russia, which maintains a preferably conservative stance on crypto rules, impeded progress for months.

Since sanctions stress on Russia raised succeeding its invasion of Ukraine, still, they agreed “ it is impossible to do without cross-border settlements in cryptocurrency, ” as Moiseev revealed in September, last year.

At the same time, utmost state institutions are presently against legalizing deals with decentralized cryptocurrencies like bitcoin in Russia, except for the purpose of facilitating international payments under unique legal regimes that are yet to be established.

(Lubomir Tassev, Bitcoin.com, 2023)