Vladimir Putin has recently acknowledged that the Russian Federation is currently examining using national digital currencies as key elements of a new alternative payment platform. In an expanded meeting of the Presidium of the State Council on the development of exports, Putin referred to the subject, explaining the relevance of these assets in this upcoming settlement network.

According to TASS, an official Russian news agency, Putin stated:

The whole world is currently working on the creation of a so-called supranational payment infrastructure. Many countries and regions of the world are working closely on this, with the possibility of using digital currencies of central banks and digital financial assets.

Putin added that such a system would work “smoothly and independently of third countries,” a characteristic Russia would seek in such a platform. Russia is facing disruptions in its bilateral trading relations with China, Turkey, and India, with many companies unable to settle imports from these nations.

Putin stressed that this objective was generalized, as more countries were also studying the use of these assets for the same reason. “This is a general trend. Everyone is thinking about it and coming up with various options,” he stressed.

However, he highlighted the difficulties linked to the organization of such a system, as many of Russia’s major trade partners are bound to the current financial system. Putin explained that this solution would not be instantaneous, as it would take time for partners to be onboarded to this new alternative payments paradigm.

However, Russia is already preparing to include digital assets as part of its payment arsenal, having approved regulations that allow for this kind of settlement and running a pilot to test the feasibility of this solution.