The Russian Federal Tax Office (RFB) has proposed an unexpected idea in the ongoing debate about cryptocurrency legislation in the country. According to RFB, businesses should be allowed to pay for international goods and services with digital currencies. Local newspaper Izvestia reported that the RFB sent this as an official comment on the crypto-legislation on Wednesday.
“[…] to allow businesses to pay foreign parties for goods and services and receive payments in digital currencies.” RFB said this in response to the initial draft of the crypto-legislation in Russia. This could be a solution to counter Western sanctions if the proposal is successful, which could result in significant changes in the cryptocurrency price in Russia.
Cryptocurrencies As a Way Out
As mentioned, the RFB proposal has the potential to completely alter the spirit and purpose of the current bill. As it stands, the draft version includes a clause that prohibits crypto payments in most cases, unless there is an exception. This is where the RFB has now proposed allowing international business payments. According to Izvestia, this proposal was made by the RFB to provide a wide range of payment options to Russian companies in this period of strict sanctions.
In addition, RFB wrote that businesses should be able to purchase and trade cryptocurrencies via regulated cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets. It remains to be seen how this will be implemented, as it is unlikely to be feasible for many international exchanges. This discussion shows that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are beginning to have an impact on the global political landscape.
Bitcoin at the Geopolitical Stage
Bitcoin began as a hobby project by cypherpunks and computer geeks in 2009. It is not known if Satoshi Nakamoto foresaw the potential of Bitcoin. Now, we are beginning to see the benefits. It didn’t take long for Bitcoin to gain monetary value, leading to its rise to global financial prominence. We are now at the stage where politicians at all levels regularly discuss Bitcoin.
As an example, China has declared a complete ban on Bitcoin and mining. On the other hand, Bitcoin mining appears to be rapidly expanding in the US state of Texas. In Russia, Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining are seen as possible ways to circumvent Western sanctions. Aside from the three major powers, El Salvador was the first country to make Bitcoin legal tender, demonstrating Bitcoin’s potential as a powerful financial tool that can be used in different ways – some people benefit from its scarcity while others can’t control it.
