The Russian Federation’s energy chief Pavel Zavalny is considering accepting Bitcoin as payment for its oil and gas from “friendly nations” such as China and Turkey.
- The so-called friendly countries could start paying for energy in Russian rubles, Chinese yuan, Turkish lira, or Bitcoin (BTC) rather than the international standard, the United States dollar.
- Zavalny stated that he and representatives of China and Turkey have been exploring changes to preferred settlement currencies for its biggest export.
- Zavalny further stated that unfriendly countries could pay for oil and gas in rubles or gold. Meanwhile, it is not clear whether Russia can revise the terms of existing contracts with nations that pay in USD or euros.
- Russia has been looking for ways to escape international economic sanctions imposed for the invasion of Ukraine.
Russian banks have been excluded from the SWIFT system to limit them from conducting cross-border payments, and most companies have been prohibited from engaging with Russia.
BTC USD up +1.40%
Source: CoinTelegraph