Bitcoin will sooner or later be the international reserve currency par excellence. We have taken another step in this direction with the Russian Ministry of Finance and Central Bank advocating together to conduct international transactions in BTC.
Bitcoin to bypass the SWIFT network
The Russian authorities have been interested in bitcoin for some time now. The Russian business daily Kommersant already revealed in February that the government wanted to offer “by February 18” a bill to recognize bitcoin as a “foreign currency”.
This interest has increased since Washington and Brussels disconnected Russia from the SWIFT network and froze the equivalent of $600 billion belonging to the Russian Federation.
But we sometimes have the impression that the whole world is waiting to see what the US Congress will do, which is currently studying two bills aimed at regulating bitcoin and all its pastiches (shitcoins). Not to mention the European Parliament and its pale copy named MiCa.
In March, the chairman of the State Duma’s energy committee, Pavel Zavalny, said for his part that the country was not against accepting bitcoin as payment for Russian natural resources:
“When it comes to our ‘friendly’ countries, such as China or Turkey, which do not put pressure on us, we have been offering them payment in national currencies, such as the ruble and the yuan, for some time. […] With Turkey, it can be liras and rubles. […] If they want bitcoin, we will trade in bitcoin.”
The Russian News Agency CASS today reports that the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Russia are of the opinion to legalize international payments in Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies). This was stated by Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev on the Russia-24 TV channel:
“When it comes to regulating the cryptocurrency market, the difference in approach has remained. But I can say that the Central Bank has also redesigned [l’approche], taking into account that the situation has changed. The infrastructure we were planning is too rigid for the use of cryptocurrencies in cross-border settlements, which of course we must first legalize somehow. »
According to him, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank have agreed that under current conditions, “it is impossible to make international transfers in cryptocurrencies”arguing that things needed to be clarified on a legal level.
By the way, let’s also remember that Gazprom is certainly interested in the possibility of mining bitcoin thanks to the gas which is currently burned because it cannot be stored. The advantage would also be to reduce methane emissions whose combustion is not complete on the flares (because of the wind).
Let’s finish by recalling that the Iranian central bank already uses bitcoin to pay for its imports. Stateless, uncensorable and non-inflationary, bitcoin is carved out to serve as an international reserve currency and offer an alternative to the monetary weapon that the petrodollar has become.
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