(Bloomberg) -- Russia is close to starting trials of cryptocurrency exchanges and the use of digital tokens for cross-border transactions to help ease payment difficulties for companies in the country, which has been hit by international sanctions.
The trials will start Sept. 1, said two people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be named discussing private information. Russia will use the National Payment Card System for swapping between rubles and cryptocurrencies when testing payments and the exchange platform, they said.
Russia’s parliament in July passed bills legalizing crypto mining and a framework to allow the testing of digital tokens for cross-border payments under supervision by the central bank. President Vladimir Putin signed the bills into law on Aug. 8.
The experiment with crypto comes as Russian businesses face growing obstacles in paying overseas suppliers and getting paid for exported commodities. Those challenges stem from a US move in June that widened the parameters for determining whether to impose sanctions on foreign banks working with Russia.
As recently as January 2022, just weeks before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the central bank proposed a blanket ban on the use and creation of cryptocurrencies.
Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Aug. 14 at a forum that authorities were looking for ways to legalize crypto exchanges, according to the state-run Tass news agency. “We haven’t found a solution yet on how to do this,” he said.
The National Payment Card System was created by the central bank in 2014 and currently operates Mir cards and Russian instant interbank payment systems. Officials picked the network for the crypto-exchange tests because it already features infrastructure for functions like interbank settlement and clearing, the people said. It is also fully regulated by the central bank.
The press departments of the Finance Ministry, central bank and National Payment Card System didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Russia may allow the Moscow Exchange and the St. Petersburg Currency Exchange to set up crypto platforms next year if the trials are successful, the people said. Any existing cryptocurrency can be used for the experiment, according to the people familiar.
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