Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused a terrible war conflict and also a trade blockade that it has been struggling to deal with for some time. Now you have a unique solution to make and receive payments for your deals with other countries: make them with cryptocurrencies.

As reported by Reuters, Russian lawmakers have approved a new law. Will allow companies to use cryptocurrencies in international trade. This is a response to sanctions imposed by most Western countries.

The law could come into force as soon as next September. Elvira Nabiullina, the head of the Central Bank of Russia and one of the main supporters of the law, said the first transactions could take place before the end of the year.

Russia will create a new “experimental” infrastructure to enable such payments, but no further details about that infrastructure are known. The system will not allow for national payments.

The measure was created in response to this late payments These problems in such international agreements caused Russian imports to decrease by 8% in the second quarter of 2024.

Most such payments continue to be made in euros and dollars and are made through the SWIFT system, and sanctions are hitting exactly this part of the Russian economy.

Banks in countries where Russia does business do not want to be subject to such sanctions, and cryptocurrencies could be an interesting solution to this problem.

Image | Pedro Szekely | Erling Loken Andersen

In Xataka | Russia has resorted to a technology from over 150 years ago in its war with drones and hypersonic missiles: Morse code