Russian Exchanges Ready to Launch International Crypto Payments, Lawmaker Reveals

The largest exchanges in Russia are ready to begin operating with cryptocurrencies right after authorities legalize cross-border settlements in crypto, according to a leading member of the Russian parliament. The stock and commodity trading platforms in Moscow and St. Petersburg are working to develop this market, the high-ranking official added.

Major Russian exchanges are prepared to start working with cryptocurrencies as soon as government institutions create the legal conditions for crypto settlements, the head of the Financial Market Committee at the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, has announced.

Moscow Exchange, St. Petersburg Exchange, and the St. Petersburg International Commodity Exchange are actively working to develop the market and are ready to immediately get involved in the process, since the infrastructure is already there, Anatoly Aksakov said in an interview with Parlamentskaya Gazeta, the official newspaper of the Federal Assembly.

Also quoted by the crypto news outlets Bits.media and RBC Crypto, the Russian deputy pointed out that legislation designed to regulate the matter is currently being discussed. The necessary bills can be adopted as early as November, the lawmaker indicated.

Russia turned its attention to cryptocurrencies as a way to circumvent financial restrictions imposed by the West over its military invasion of Ukraine. The Russian government now views them as a tool that can ensure uninterrupted cross-border payments.

In mid-September, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin ordered the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Russia to elaborate by December a joint position on the federal legislation needed to regulate the issuance and circulation of digital coins, including their mining and use in international settlements.

Last week, news came out that the two regulators have already reached a general agreement on a bill authorizing the employment of cryptocurrency in foreign trade deals. Russian media reports also unveiled that financial authorities in Moscow are already developing a mechanism to facilitate such crypto payments.

Do you expect Russia to quickly adopt laws allowing the use of cryptocurrencies in cross-border settlements? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.