Discussion of the potential use of cryptocurrencies in cross-border transactions
Lately, there are discussions in the political and economic business circles of the Russian Federation about the permissibility of use and the need to regulate payments in cryptocurrency. “After including a separate code for the activities of bloggers into the All-Russian Classifier of Economic Activities (OKVED), we ought to consider introducing the OKVED code for cryptocurrency miners.” – Anton Gorelkin, deputy head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications, said on April 11, 2025.
In March 2025 the Bank of Russia, in accordance with the instructions of the President of Russia, sent proposals for discussion to the Government on regulating investments in cryptocurrencies. It is proposed to allow a limited number of Russian professional investors to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. For this purpose, it is planned to establish a special experimental legal regime (for a period of three years). At the same time, the Bank of Russia still does not consider cryptocurrency as a means of payment, therefore, it proposes at the same time to ban settlements between residents on transactions with cryptocurrency outside the experimental regime, as well as to establish responsibility for violating the ban.
Currently, the use of cryptocurrencies for international settlements in Russia is in a “gray” legal zone. Federal Law No. 259-FZ “On Digital Financial Assets” recognizes cryptocurrencies as property, but prohibits their use as a means of payment in the country. Despite legal restrictions, businesses, especially small and medium ones, actively use cryptocurrency to pay for foreign trade transactions. However, in our opinion, the possibilities of cryptopayments as a means of circumventing sanctions are still questionable, and they carry the risks of not only financial losses, but also claims from regulatory authorities.
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