Russian companies have started carrying out cross-border settlements using cryptocurrencies as US sanctions blocked the country from the traditional fiat system, head of the Finance Ministry's Financial Policy Department Ivan Chebeskov said in an interview with "Izvestiya," a Russian newspaper.
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Chebeskov declined to elaborate on what companies turned to crypto, but noted that the volume has increased after Russia has become the world's most-sanctioned nation.
Vladimir Gamza, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia, told the newspaper that the local companies are mainly use digital currencies for settlements with "unfriendly countries," a list of countries published by the Russian government that it says commit "unfriendly actions" against it.
Although Gamza neither specified crypto used for settlements nor countries that participate in these deals, he said that Russian companies are using crypto primarily for the supply of Russian export goods and the import of components for the manufacturing sector.
As iHodl reported earlier, Russia's central bank gave the green light to Russian business to use cryptocurrencies as a means of payment for international trades. Even though the financial watchdog warns that crypto legalization poses greater risks for Russian citizens, citing volatility issues and financial stability for Russia in general, there are no barriers for companies to use crypto for international trades, said a senior bank official.
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