After being hit with multiple strict sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, Russia is now considering accepting Bitcoin as payment for its oil and gas exports.
Using Crypto to Evade Sanctions
In a news conference held on Thursday 25th, Pavel Zavalny, the chair of Russia’s Duma Committee on energy, revealed that Russia could soon allow “friendly” countries such as China and Turkey to pay for oil and gas using Bitcoin alongside their local currencies.
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Translated comments from the videotaped conference read;
“We have been proposing to China for a long time to switch to settlements in national currencies for rubles and yuan. With Turkey, it will be lira and rubles. You can also trade bitcoins.”
However, the Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week stated that he wants countries deemed to be “unfriendly” to buy Russia’s gas using the ruble – Russia’s official currency.
Bitcoin Jumps in Response to the News
The news saw Bitcoin continue a three-day winning streak, as the biggest cryptocurrency on the market gained by 4% to hit an interday high of $44,215. The last time Bitcoin traded at above $44k was on March 3rd.
The 24 hour price chart for Bitcoin (BTC). Source: Tradingview
Bitcoin has now gained 9% in value over the last seven days as the crypto market continues to stage a comeback from last month’s losses. As a result, the global crypto market cap also reclaimed $2 trillion for the first time since mid-February.
On the Flipside
- Global crypto exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, Huobi, KuCoin, Bybit, and Whitebit have been under pressure from governments to restrict their services in Russia
Why You Should Care
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink asserts that the Russia – Ukraine crisis could accelerate the adoption of digital currencies.
