As Russia continues to press for de-dollarisation, the Department of Foreign Affairs (MFA Russia) is apparently thinking of replacing the US dollar with not only traditional fiat money but also with cryptocurrencies.
In an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax on Tuesday, Aleksandr Pankin, Russia’s deputy minister of foreign affairs, repeated the country’s plans to diminish the US dollar’s portion of Russia’s foreign reserves and its use in settlement with global counterparts.
Pankin stated that such a successor would necessitate major government commitment, including the restoration of established cooperation models among jurisdictions and enterprises, as well as the development of new methods for settlement building systems.
The official highlighted that Russia’s de-dollarisation strategy is consistent with the nation’s efforts to sidestep the problems created by US constraints.
According to the official, MFA Russia is not ruling out the prospect of replacing the US dollar with “certain digital assets” alongside other currencies:
It’s possible to replace the U.S. dollar with other currencies, both national and regional, as well as some digital assets in the long term.
Russia has been examining methods to reduce the U.S. currency component of its $186 billion state welfare fund for some years. Local governments intend to significantly boost their holdings of Chinese yuan and invest in gold.
The latest words from Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs highlighted the country’s obvious interest in using cryptocurrency for a global settlement. Last week, President Vladimir Putin stated that using virtual currencies to settle oil trades was “a bit early.” The president also acknowledged cryptocurrency’s significance for worldwide money transfers.
“Payments in US currency are processed through American banks and a clearing system, allowing Washington to stop any transactions it deems suspicious,” Pankin explained. He went on to say that the Russian government has never had such problems with the euro or other fiat money and that it has no plans to implement such procedures for any other financial markets in the future.