Russian tax authority proposes to use bitcoin for international payments

The Russian Federal Tax Office (RFB) has come forward with a surprising idea in the crypto law debate in Russia. According to the RFB, it is a good idea to allow companies to make international payments with crypto. Izvestia, a local newspaper, reports that the RFB submitted this as official feedback on the crypto legislation on Wednesday.

“[…] to allow companies to pay foreign parties for goods and services and receive payments in digital currencies,” the RFB said in response to the first draft of the cryptocurrency bill in Russia. It could be a way to neutralize sanctions from the West. Should the proposal make it to the finish line, it would mean a significant change in Russia’s price on crypto.

Cryptocurrency as an escape route

As mentioned, the RFB’s proposal has the potential to completely reverse the spirit of the current bill. As it stands, the proposal sees no role for cryptocurrency other than as an investment vehicle. Izvestia writes that the preliminary version contains a clause banning crypto payments. In any case, on all points where this law makes no specific exception.

It is therefore possible that international payments for companies will be included in the law as an exception. In any case, that is what the RFB has now submitted a proposal for. According to Izvestia, the RFB made this proposal to create a diverse palette of payment options to support Russian companies during this period of severe sanctions.

Furthermore, the RFB writes that companies should be given the opportunity to buy and sell cryptocurrencies through regulated crypto wallets and exchange platforms. In that regard, it remains to be seen what this will look like. Since many international stock exchange platforms are probably not allowed to participate in this. What this discussion mainly shows is that bitcoin and the rest of the crypto market are starting to play on the global political stage.

Bitcoin’s geopolitical moment

Bitcoin started in 2009 as an attic project for cypherpunks and computer geeks. It is questionable whether Satoshi Nakamoto ever saw the potential that bitcoin is now beginning to realize. However, it was not long ago before bitcoin gained monetary value and began its ascent to the global financial stage. We are now at the point where politicians at the highest level regularly discuss bitcoin.

In line with leading political thinking in the country, China has declared a total ban on bitcoin and bitcoin mining. The United States, on the other hand, seems to be opening up more and more to bitcoin mining, especially in the state of Texas where the industry is currently thriving. Russia sees bitcoin and bitcoin mining as a potential solution to circumvent Western sanctions.

Apart from the three major powers, there’s of course also El Salvador, which was the first country to turn bitcoin into legal tender. It shows that bitcoin is a powerful monetary tool that can be used by everyone in different ways. Some benefit from absolute scarcity, while others benefit from it being uncontrollable by centralized powers.