The bank of Russia and the country’s ministry of finance approve payments for cross-border settlements in cryptocurrencies while viewing the current geopolitical scenarios, as per the reports.

Russia’s deputy finance minister Alexie Moiseev said that the government department along with the central bank has agreed “on the whole” matter with the central bank on the rule that would allow residents to make payments cross-border using cryptocurrency. 

Keeping in mind the need of the hour Moiseev emphasizes the need to engage local cryptocurrency services in Russia. He called out how many people in Russia use international portals to use cryptocurrency wallets. They too must own a local service that will keep track of customers and users, and regulate other illegal activities such as money laundering.

According to the report, Moiseev said, “the policy generally describes how to acquire cryptocurrency as payment, what can be done with it, and how it can or cannot be settled with it in the first place in a cross-border settlement.”

Initially, Russia was hesitant to legalize crypto, in 2020 Russian govt passed legislation to forbid the use of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin for any payments. A bill was also passed by President Vladimir Putin to ban all digital financial assets as payments in the month of July. 

Trade minister Denis Manturov previously said that Russia will legalize crypto payments sooner or later.

However, in late 2021, the idea of crypto payments for national trades in Russia ignited. During that time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was “still premature” to use crypto for trades of energy resources like oil and gas.

The local news agencies reported that the government has been discussing the matter of cross-border payments with the central bank. However, both the central bank and the Ministry of Finance had agreed that “it is impossible to do without cross-border settlements in cryptocurrency.”