Russian Official Hints At Replacing US Dollar In Economy With Crypto

Aleksandr Pankin, Russia's deputy minister of foreign affairs, has suggested that cryptocurrencies could be an alternative asset to the United States dollar in the country's economy.

What Happened: According to a Tuesday report by local news agency Interfax, Pankin said during an interview that Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs could "replace the U.S. dollar with other currencies, both national and regional, as well as some digital assets in the long-term.”

Such a move would require the government to rebuild established cooperation models between jurisdictions and businesses and create new mechanisms for new settlement systems, he said. 

See Also: Learn about Cryptocurrency

Pankin highlighted that Russia is looking to decrease its reliance on the United States dollar to avoid sanctions. He pointed out that "payments in U.S. dollars go through American banks and a clearing system, which allows Washington to block any transactions they deem suspicious."

Te country has yet to encounter such problems with the euro or other fiat currencies and consequently does not have an aversion to using those, the Russian official said. 

The report follows Russia's President Vladimir Putin saying that cryptocurrencies have value and that he accepts their use for payments.