Russia Is Open To Accept Bitcoin (BTC) For Oil And Gas Payments

According to Pavel Zavalny, the chairman of congressional energy committee of Russia, the nation is open to accepting Bitcoin for its natural resources exports, such as oil and gas.

Russia is open to accepting different currencies for its exports, beginning with natural gas, depending on the buyer’s preferred method of payment, Zavalny said. However, the terms will depend on the importing country’s foreign relations status with Russia, he elaborated.

Zavalny said:

“When it comes to our friendly countries, like China or Turkey, which don’t pressure us, then we have been offering them for a while to switch payments to national currencies, like rubles and yuan.

With Turkey, it can be lira and rubles. So there can be a variety of currencies, and that’s a standard practice. If they want bitcoin, we will trade in bitcoin.”

Earlier this week, President Vladimir Putin made comments saying that ‘unfriendly’ countries will pay for Russian gas in rubles. While his message was clear, but it is not clear, Russia can unilaterally change existing contracts agreed upon in euros.

In addition to agreeing with Putin’s decision, Zavalny said that the country should also accept gold.

“When we exchange with Western countries…they should pay in hard money. And hard money is gold, or they must pay in currencies which are convenient for us, and that is the national currency – ruble. That relates to our ‘unfriendly’ countries.”

Putin last year wasn’t in favor of the possibility of accepting Bitcoin for oil payments in an interview at the Russian Energy Week event in Moscow, but this is now seemingly changing.

Bitcoin’s current market size and liquidity do pose questions as to whether the peer-to-peer currency could be used widely by countries in international trade right now.

However, Russia could set the stage for a new trend where nations choose to transact in the stateless, global monetary system.