Russia Developing Sandbox for Cross-border Crypto Payments – Bitcoin News

Local media reports that a Russian institute is working to establish a sandbox in international cryptocurrency payments. This is to help identify regulatory and technological issues that could hinder settlements using digital assets.

Russia Sets Up Dedicated Sandbox to Examine Cryptopayments For Exports

The Russian Export Center (REC), which is a state-run institute tasked to support Russia’s exports, is now considering the employment of digital currencies as an alternative approach to international settlements under sanctions.

The organization believes that setting up a “cross-border digital sandbox” is a promising initiative. Fintech companies will be able to accept payments via digital financial instruments for Russian exporters as well as importers.

According to Veronika Nikishiina, who is the head of the REC, settlements in cryptocurrencies are an alternative payment system that will grow very quickly. She elaborated on this point at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

We are a leading development institution and we monitor all trends. Therefore, we are currently studying how to become a digital sandbox that can pilot the use cryptocurrency in cross-border payment.

Quoted by Tass, Nikishina added that the institute has already gathered representatives of fintech firms and regulatory bodies and is closely collaborating with the Central Bank of Russia as well as with the country’s financial watchdog, Rosfinmonitoring. It would not be possible to establish all levels of crypto payments without them, the official said.

The REC director emphasized the importance of building a sandbox “in order to identify all possible risks in terms of regulation and technology.” Veronika Nikishina believes this would allow making such payments quickly and safely in the future.

The initiative comes after Bank of Russia, a firm opponent to the legalization of cryptocurrencies in the country, softened its stance on crypto payments in foreign trade deals, amid mounting Western restrictions on Russia’s finances imposed over its military invasion of Ukraine.

As authorities work to develop comprehensive crypto regulations, most Russian institutions believe that the ruble should continue to be the sole legal tender in Russia. The State Duma (the lower chamber of the parliament) approved an earlier draft of a law that bans cryptocurrency from being used as a method of payment. However, it left open the possibility of exceptions in federal laws.

Are you positive that Russia will use cryptocurrencies to settle international disputes? Comment below to share your hopes and fears.

Lubomir Tatsev

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’s quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.