Russia Moves From SWIFT, Dollar & Euro to Crypto For Trade

Key Takeaways

• Russia’s Finance Ministry and Central Bank agree to legalize cryptocurrency for foreign trade.
• The move follows a September 2025 pilot and could lead to a permanent framework soon.
• The shift reflects Moscow’s strategy to bypass sanctions and diversify payment systems.

After playing hot potato with crypto and maintaining a cautious stance for years, Russia may finally be warming up to digital assets — but only in a limited sense.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov recently announced that the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) had agreed to legalize the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign trade.

Russia Finally Warms Up to Crypto—Cautiously

Siluanov framed the move as a pragmatic response to ongoing financial restrictions:

“We believe that this area should be legalized and should receive legislative regulation,” he said. “Together with Rosfinmonitoring and control services, we will be able to ensure and restore order in this sector.”

The decision builds on Russia’s September 2025 experimental legal regime (ELR) — a pilot that tested the use of crypto for international transactions.

With the pilot deemed successful, the government now plans to introduce a dedicated framework to formalize digital assets in cross-border trade.

Sanctions Push Moscow Toward Crypto

Russia’s softening stance on crypto is less about innovation and more about necessity.

Since 2022, the country has faced sweeping Western sanctions that have cut it off from major global payment systems, including SWIFT, and limited access to U.S. dollars and euros.

In response, policymakers have sought alternative channels to facilitate trade and finance.

Crypto’s borderless nature has made it a convenient — if controversial — workaround for restricted transactions.

Legalizing crypto for international settlements could therefore help Russia maintain trade flows with sanctioned or friendly nations, especially across energy and commodity markets.

From Resistance to Regulation

Russia’s relationship with crypto has evolved dramatically in just a few years. Once staunchly opposed to digital assets, Moscow has gradually moved toward controlled acceptance.

CBR Governor Elvira Nabiullina has said the initiative aims to integrate digital assets into trade without undermining the ruble’s stability.

A Pragmatic Move, Not a Policy Pivot

Despite the headlines, Russia’s legalization is not a blanket embrace of crypto.

Domestic retail use remains prohibited, and the forthcoming framework is expected to tightly regulate who can transact and under what conditions.

Still, the move signals a calculated shift — an effort to leverage crypto’s utility in global trade while keeping its speculative side at arm’s length.

If successful, the initiative could position Russia as a pioneer in state-regulated cross-border crypto use, a model that other heavily sanctioned nations might soon follow.