Russian Crypto Payments Can Be Acceptable in Foreign Trade
Russian financial regulator Rosfinmonitoring is equipped to accept the use of cryptocurrencies in international trade settlements, the head of the agency, Yuri Chikhanchin, has indicated. The statement is in line with the growing support for the legalization of international Digital Currency Payments in Russia amid financial restrictions and sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine.
The Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Russian Federation, also known as Rosfinmonitoring, is fully equipped to accept digital currencies for trade settlements with foreign partners, Yury Chikhanchin, director of the regulatory body has stated.
Speaking in the Federation Council, the upper house of Russian parliament, Chikhanchin emphasized that payments with digital assets inside the country are prohibited by law. The country’s current legislation bans “money surrogates.”
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However, under special circumstances, such payments may well be used in international trade settlements, Chikhanchin said. The high-ranking official is of the view that this can help businesses oriented towards exporting Russian products. Quoted by the Bits.media Cryptocurrency News outlet, he also noted: “If the supply chain is controlled, then this is quite acceptable.”
Chikhanchin further went to say that in order to take advantage of Digital Currency payments, Russian firms need to know to whom exactly they are exchanging the digital currencies.
The official also revealed that his department has developed and already launched a special information system for tracking Cryptocurrency transactions. It will allow financial authorities to verify the identity of both the sender and the recipient of funds and has been used already in some investigations.
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The deliberation over the future of cryptocurrencies in Russia is still ongoing. A new bill “On Digital Currency” is expected to introduce more comprehensive rules for cryptocurrency transactions after the law “On Digital Financial Assets” regulated only some aspects of the Cryptocurrency Industry.
The idea to use digital currencies in international trade settlements has been gaining support amid mounting Western financial sanctions over Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine. At the same time, most public institutions in Moscow believe that the ruble should remain the only legal tender in the country.
While the Bank of Russia, a strong opponent of the free circulation of digital currencies, recently signaled it could back the legalization of cryptocurrency payments that don’t penetrate Russia’s financial system, the lower house of Russian parliament recently passed a law banning domestic payments with Digital Financial Assets.
In March, the chairman of Russia’s Congressional energy committee, Pavel Zavalny, said that the country was open to accepting bitcoin for the exports of its natural resources. He further went on to explain that only “friendly” countries like China and Turkey would be given this option, as President Vladimir Putin had said the day before that “unfriendly” countries should pay for Russian exports in rubles.
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In another instance, Russia’s tax authority proposed that legal entities in the country should be able to accept bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payment in foreign trade contracts. This came as a suggestion for the country’s overhaul cryptocurrency draft bill, presented in February by the Ministry of Finance.
The finance minister seems to have played a big role in moving the country away from a complete ban on Bitcoin. Its proposed draft legislation came after an intense disagreement with the Bank of Russia, which held an opposing view regarding the future of bitcoin and cryptocurrency regulation in the country.
However, since January, the circumstances have drastically changed and due to the on-going Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Central Bank Russia has changed its stance towards crypto and admitted of taking an aggressive step of outright ban which might have stifled the asset and market growth.
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