Amid the recent approval in Russia of regulations that allow cross-border payments with cryptocurrencies and legalize bitcoin (BTC) mining, the United States threatens to follow up on the measures that will be implemented in the Eurasian country.
The monitoring of Russia’s actions has been announced by the US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, who a few days ago testified before the Congressional Financial Services Committee, pointing out his knowledge of the plans of the Russian authorities.
He claimed that they have been attentive to the possible use of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins as a way to evade sanctions, although they have been taking it as a sign of the effectiveness of the measures applied by the United Stateswhich have caused many difficulties for Russia.
However, while dismissing the power of cryptocurrencies, the official exposed their concerns when considering that its use may intensify, as Sanctions become more severe. In this sense, it is expected that transactions with cryptoassets will be significantly encouraged starting next September, when the new Russian laws come into force.
There are fears, therefore, that cryptocurrencies represent a challenge to compliance with economic sanctions, as they offer Russia an alternative to maintain its international exchangesSo much so that for several months now the Bank of Russia has encouraged companies to adopt cryptocurrencies as a means of making international payments.
US Congressman Brad Sherman also spoke out on this issue, noting that “the only advantage that cryptoassets offer to Russia is the evasion of our sanctions and other laws, including tax laws.”
Hence, together with Yellen, Sherman assures that they will be monitoring the use of cryptocurrencies in Russia, in order to ensure that economic sanctions remain in force and effective.
Although she did not cite any particular measures or actions to monitor the situation, Yellen said the Treasury is monitoring the situation very closely. Her biggest fear is that with reduce the effectiveness of restrictions applied to Russia from 2022, in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.
Russia, with its abundant energy resources and skilled technical workforce, has the potential to become a major country in Bitcoin mining. Composition: CriptoNoticias
Russia was forced to resort to bitcoin
As reported by CriptoNoticias, President Vladimir Putin approved this August 8 a legal regulatory regime, which will authorize the Central Bank to launch The new experimental regime with cryptocurrencies.
The objective is to develop, as soon as possible, an alternative payment systemestablishing special rules that fall outside the scope of current laws. This, considering that cryptocurrency payments are legally prohibited in Russia.
The plans include the creation of a bitcoin fund by entrepreneurs, as a means of making payments, as well as “enabling the export of bitcoins.” The goal is to solve the problems that exist in making cross-border payments. and sustain international trade.
The difficulties generated by the sanctions have forced the Russian government to use the local currencies of the countries with which it trades. But, in practice, this modality has generated economic losses due to the exchange rate issue. All of this has forced many entrepreneurs to turn to stablecoins.
In the midst of the crisis, Bitcoin mining also emerges as another trump card to solve payment problems. Hence, the approval of the bill has been accelerated. to legalize the activityIt is hoped that this will enable the State to take advantage of the resources derived from mining, as is already done in Iran.
It is also known that Russians are also betting on cryptocurrencies as a way to attract investment. They hope that companies linked to the sector will choose their country as it offers a more favorable regulatory environment.
