Settlements With China — Russia Plans Next Step for Digital Ruble

Russia intends to use its digital ruble, to be introduced early next year, for payments with its key ally, China. Authorities in Moscow hope other nations will be willing to adopt the Russian digital currency in trade, which will allow the country to circumvent sanctions imposed over the Ukraine war. Russian Federation Eyes Digital Ruble … Read more

Crypto Payments May Not Help Russia Bypass Sanctions, Experts Say

Russia is preparing to authorize international crypto payments but people involved in the industry doubt this would allow the country to circumvent sanctions. At the same time, the United States has been tightening the noose, recently targeting the use of cryptocurrencies to dodge the financial restrictions imposed by the West with new legislation in Congress. … Read more

Nicolas Maduro Tempts West With an Abundance of Oil and Gas, Venezuelan President Wants Sanctions Lifted

Amid the economic rumblings across the world and the energy crisis in Europe, Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has said his country is ready to step up and help with oil. Despite the fact that Venezuela has the largest supply of crude oil in the world, U.S. economic sanctions imposed in 2019 by the Trump administration … Read more

While the US Dollar Tramples the Euro, Pound and Yen, Russia’s Ruble Skyrockets Against the Greenback

While the U.S. dollar has soared in value against a basket of worldwide fiat currencies, Russia’s ruble climbed 4.5% against the greenback this week. During the first week of September, Russia told the press China would pay for natural gas with rubles and yuan. Moreover, Switzerland’s imports of Russian gold reached a high not seen … Read more

Russia Starts Developing Mechanism for International Crypto Payments

Financial authorities in Russia have begun work on a mechanism to facilitate the employment of cryptocurrencies for settlements with other nations amid sanctions. The country’s central bank and finance ministry have already agreed on a draft law regulating cross-border crypto payments. Regulators in Russia Move Toward Legalizing Use of Cryptocurrency in Foreign Trade Russian authorities … Read more

Erdogan Suggests Turkish-Russian Payment System, Local Media Reports

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is reportedly pushing for Turkey and Russia to establish a new payment system between them. The initiative comes amid U.S. pressure against the use of the Russian Mir cards in Turkey. Some Turkish banks have been working with them to facilitate payments by Russian tourists visiting the country. President Erdogan … Read more

Github Partially Reinstates Tornado Cash Codebase, Open Source Code Set to Read-Only Mode

The internet hosting and software development subsidiary of Microsoft, Github, has partially unbanned the Tornado Cash repositories following the recent sanctions enforced by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC). Github’s decision follows the U.S. Treasury updating the public, noting that U.S. persons can copy, view, and discuss the open-source code. Github’s … Read more

Ethereum-Based ‘Cryptoruble’ Token Under Development in Russia

Developers are working on a “cryptoruble” that, as they say, can improve Russians’ access to global exchanges and be used for cross-border payments. Defi platform Indefibank, which is behind the project, says the token will be pegged to the national fiat but independent from a state-issued digital ruble. Cryptoruble to Give Russian Companies Another Option … Read more