Russian companies have begun using bitcoin and other digital currencies in international payments following legislative changes that allowed such use in order to counter Western sanctions, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Wednesday.

Russia has allowed the use of Bitcoin and other digital currencies in international payments to counteract Western sanctions. Source: Reuters, citing Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, as reported by Mezha Media,

Russian companies are increasingly using Bitcoin and other digital currencies for international payments in response to Western sanctions, Reuters reported on Dec. 25. Once key facilitators of Russia’s trade,

Russian companies have started using Bitcoin and other digital currencies for international payments. This shift follows legislative changes allowing such transactions to counter Western sanctions, reports Reuters,

Russia legalizes Bitcoin for international payments to counter sanctions, and expanding its use for trade.

The Russian government has been a historic opponent of bitcoin, banning its use for domestic payments, but has recently come to see the potential benefits of virtual currencies for evading U.S. and Western sanctions.

“As part of the experimental regime, it is possible to use bitcoins, which we had mined here in Russia, in foreign trade transactions,” Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in an interview on the Russia 24 television channel.

Russian firms embrace Bitcoin for cross-border payments to bypass sanctions, amid new crypto laws and mining restrictions till 2031.

Ukraine has announced "sanctions and other solutions" to block Russia's unwanted cryptocurrency payments. Source: Vladyslav Vlasiuk, Advisor to the president of Ukraine and Commissioner for Sanctions Policy Details: Vlasiuk recalled that Russian companies started using Bitcoin and other digital currencies for international payments after changes in legislation allowed such transactions in order to counter Western sanctions.

Bitcoin and BRICS are considered to be helpful for reducing Russian dependence on the US dollar. Russia began international dealings through Bitcoin. Russia trusts digital currencies to make inter-nation trade easier in ways that can protect it from US sanctions and give greater control over global trade with and over the US dollar.