Russia started to use crypto for oil trade with China and India, because Western sanctions want to circumvent, Reuters reported On March 14, with reference to sources that are familiar with the issue.
According to the report, some Russian oil companies have arranged transactions in Bitcoin, Ethereum and Stablecoins such as Tether’s USDT. This strategy simplifies the conversion of Chinese Yuan and Indian rupees in Russian rubles, which makes it possible to make flexible transactions possible despite financial limitations.
Usually a Chinese buyer Yuan drops off to an offshore account that is checked by an intermediary. The funds are then converted into crypto and transferred via several accounts before they reach a final destination in Russia, where they are exchanged for ROEBEL.
Allegedly, these transactions reach tens of millions of dollars per month.
Although the acceptance of the crypto in the oil trade in Russia is limited, it is part of a wider trend. In the past year, the country has introduced new regulations for crypto -mining, taxation and international trade.
Western sanctions imposed about Russia’s military actions in Ukraine have accelerated this shift to digital assets. Industrial sources, however, suggest that oil companies can continue to use cryptocurrencies, even if sanctions are lifted because of their efficiency and transaction speed.
Digital rubles challenges
While Russia increases its dependence on crypto for trade, the project of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) (CBDC) is confronted with considerable obstacles.
Last month, Governor of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina announced an indefinite delay in the launch of the digital rubles. She attributed the setback to the need for further refinements to ensure that the currency benefits all stakeholders.
However, a recent study indicates that the launch of the digital rubles has been postponed because of the insufficient IT infrastructure of banks that were expected to deal with the project.
The research by Russian bank experts showed that 30% of the financial institutions has not yet been prepared to support the digital rubles. Experts explained that the implementation of the CBDC requires that banks upgrade their IT systems to handle increased transaction volumes.
In the meantime, 20% of Banking IT specialists stated that their systems are fully equipped for the digital rubles. Another 50% said they are partially prepared, but need further upgrades.
At the same time, about 14% of the respondents expressed concern about possible risks for information security related to the currency.
In view of these challenges, the national digital assets initiative of Russia could have further obstacles, unless large financial institutions fully prepare for their approval.
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