Tech Giant Rostec Will Test Digital Asset Payments In Foreign Trade

Tech Giant Rostec Will Test Digital Asset Payments In Foreign Trade

The leading technology company in Russia, Rostec is working on a project to test digital assets in foreign trade. The state-owned corporation wants to launch digital asset payments to reduce Western sanctions pressure on Russian exporters and importers.

Trial Runs of Digital Currency Payments on Russky Island

The largest Russian industrial and technology conglomerate, Rostec is preparing to launch a project dedicated to integrating digital assets in foreign trade. The objective of the move is to limit the impact of sanctions on the Russian importers and exporters facing Western sanctions.

The Russian economy and especially foreign trade operations have been facing financial restrictions imposed by the West over Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine. Proposals to legalize the use of digital financial assets in deals with partners, including cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and the upcoming digital ruble, have been gaining support among officials.

Speaking during the "Digital Finance: New Ways of Development" conference at the Eastern Economic Forum, Rostec’s Managing Director for National Projects Anna Sharipova revealed that the corporation is exploring the possibility of testing digital assets as a means of payment for imports and exports. Trial runs will be conducted under the experimental legal regime for electronic trading on Russky Island, off the coast of Vladivostok, the second-largest city in the Far East of Russia.

Bits.media, the crypto news portal, has reported from reliable sources that the market is interested in introducing cryptocurrency payments for foreign trade settlements. Exporters, importers, suppliers, and consumers are looking to modern and efficient financial settlement systems in the face of restrictions from the imposed sanctions, Sharipova elaborated. Rostec experts are currently developing a launch strategy for the project, supported by market participants and local authorities.

Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Moiseev said last week at Vladivostok that his department and the Central Bank of Russia have studied cryptocurrencies and reached a conclusion that the Russian government needs to legalize and regulate international payments in digital assets as soon as possible. The head of the Financial Market Committee at the State Duma, Anatoly Aksakov, had also urged the adoption of a relevant legal framework. The Bank of Russia has indicated it intends to promote its digital ruble for the same purpose.

In late August, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin praised digital assets as a "safe alternative" that can ensure uninterrupted international payments. The Head of Russia’s Financial Watchdog, Rosfinmonitoring, Yuri Chikhanchin, said that crypto payments are acceptable in foreign trade. In June, Rostec announced it had developed a blockchain-based alternative to the global payment messaging system SWIFT, from which several Russian banks were disconnected. The system is designed to facilitate the processing of international settlements and the storage of digital currency.