Rostec, a leading Russian technology company, is working on a project to integrate digital assets into cross-border trade. The state-owned company says the market is interested in cryptocurrency payments, which could reduce sanctions pressure on Russian importers and exporters.
Rostec Eyes Russky Island for Trials of Digital Currency Payments
Rostec, Russia’s largest industrial and technological conglomerate, is preparing to launch a project to integrate cryptocurrencies into cross-border transactions. The main task is to limit the negative impact of sanctions on the activities of Russian importers and exporters, which are under increasing pressure.
The Russian economy, especially foreign trade operations, have been hit hard by the financial restrictions imposed by the West over Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine. Proposals to legalize the use of digital financial assets in transactions with partners, including cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and the upcoming digital ruble, have gained support among stakeholders.
Digital Finance. At this week’s “Digital Finance: new ways of development” conference at the Eastern Economic Forum, Anna Sharipova, managing director of national projects at Rostec, revealed that companies are exploring the possibility of testing digital assets as a means of payment for imports and exports. The experiment will take place on the island of Russky, off the coast of Vladivostok, the second largest city in the Russian Far East, under an experimental legal regime for electronic transactions.
Quoted by crypto news outlet Bits.media, a high-ranking executive said the market is now very interested in introducing cryptocurrencies into international trade relations. Suppliers and consumers, separated by borders and facing various restrictions stemming from sanctions, are turning to modern and efficient payment systems, Sharipova elaborated.Rostec experts are currently developing a project launch strategy with the support of market participants and local authorities. formulating the project’s start-up strategy with the support of market participants and local authorities.
The news from Vladivostok comes after Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev revealed this week that his department and the Central Bank of Russia have studied cryptocurrencies and have come to the conclusion that the Russian government must legalize and regulate international payments for digital assets as soon as possible. The decision was made by the State Duma’s Committee on Financial Markets. The head of the State Duma’s Financial Markets Committee, Anatoly Aksakov, also urged the adoption of a relevant legal framework. The Bank of Russia later indicated that it also intends to promote the digital ruble for the same purpose.
In late August, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishstein praised digital assets as a “secure alternative” that could secure international payments without interruption; in July, Yuri Chikhanchin, said crypto payments are acceptable in foreign trade.In June, Rostec announced that it had developed a blockchain-based alternative to SWIFT, the global payment messaging system that has left many Russian banks disconnected. The system is designed to facilitate the processing of international payments and the storage of digital currency.
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