Important points
- BRICS leaders advocate Bitcoin to circumvent Western sanctions at annual summit.
- President Putin called for an alternative currency to the dollar and emphasized the need for new economic cooperation.
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According to a Bloomberg Terminal report shared by Matthew Siegel, head of digital assets at VanEck, BRICS lawmakers say Russian miners are selling Bitcoin to overseas buyers and that countries are buying Bitcoin and other crypto assets. They insist that it be made available for import.
As the BRICS summit gets underway, leading lawmakers are pushing the idea that Russian miners could sell their mines #bitcoin For overseas buyers looking to use BTC and other cryptocurrencies to pay for imported goods, effectively circumventing Western sanctions.
— Matthew Siegel, CFA Recovery (@matthew_sigel) October 23, 2024
While sanctions have had a major impact on the Russian economy, the emergence of cryptocurrencies offers an alternative to the traditional financial system dominated by the US dollar.
Richard Wolff, an American economist and professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, cited a change in power relations, saying that while the United States is in decline, the BRICS coalition is gaining momentum.
During the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the issue of the dollar being used as a political weapon, saying:
“The dollar was used as a weapon. It's true… If they don't allow us to handle it, what else are we supposed to do? We have no other options. You should explore it.”
Putin's comments underline the BRICS countries' commitment to finding new avenues of economic cooperation beyond dependence on the dollar, perhaps turning to cryptocurrencies as an alternative.
Just before: 🇷🇺Russian President Vladimir Putin said it would be a “big mistake” to use the US dollar as a weapon. pic.twitter.com/4J3KU1Z6U7
— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) October 23, 2024
In this context, Russia is actively working on building payment and settlement infrastructure that bypasses the Swift payment system. This de-dollarization initiative is expected to be one of the most concrete proposals to come out of the summit.
In a related development, Russia’s BitRiver and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) have partnered to launch a BRICS-wide mining initiative aimed at establishing crypto and AI data centers across member countries. .
This strategic partnership aims to increase computing capacity and reduce dependence on Western sanctions and technology.
The timing of this partnership coincides with Russia's recent crypto mining regulations, enacted in August 2024, providing clear operational guidelines for miners and data center operators.
As BRICS countries work towards building a self-sufficient and technologically advanced ecosystem, this partnership between BitRiver and RDIF signifies the coalition's growing influence in the crypto space. .
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