Russia is taking further steps to mitigate global sanctions in place since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. According to local media reports, the country's central bank plans to create new institutions to mine crypto assets and settle international payments.
In a meeting in the State Duma — one of the chambers of the Russian parliament — the head of the central bank, Elvira Nabiullina, announced that the Bank of Russia would allow cryptocurrency to be used in external settlements in a pilot program. The move, however, does not signal a change in the country's crypto environment: