Russian IT firms lobby for crypto payments in software exports – Bitcoin News

Companies developing software solutions for foreign clients are urging Russian authorities to allow them to accept crypto payments. The proposal is part of a package of measures aimed at supporting IT exports proposed by an industry organization to the executive power in Moscow.

IT companies ask Russian authorities to allow cross-border crypto settlements

Russian companies from the information technology (IT) sector want to be allowed to make and accept crypto payments when working for clients outside of Russia. It is according to a roadmap prepared by Russoft, the association of Russian software developers, and sent to the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media.

The industry organization insists that to mitigate the effects of financial restrictions and lower costs, alternative payment solutions, including cryptocurrencies, are needed, Russian business newspaper Vedomosti reported on Thursday. The document proposes the establishment of experimental legal regimes that will facilitate the adoption of such mechanisms.

The members of the association complain about the difficulties in receiving payments from abroad. Russian businesses have had to deal with harsh sanctions imposed over Moscow’s decision to invade Ukraine that have severely limited their access to the global financial system. Russoft is also asking the Russian authorities to ease the currency controls that were introduced amid the escalating conflict.

IT is different from many other industries, noted Lev Matveev, a member of the organization’s executive board who tried to explain his interest in digital assets. Quoted by Russian crypto news outlet Bits.media, he elaborated that since most of the products made in the sector do not physically cross the border, they cannot be classified as foreign trade goods, making it impossible for the companies to circumvent exchange controls.

Russia has been pondering how to regulate cryptocurrencies for months. Led by the central bank, most government institutions agree that decentralized currencies such as bitcoin should not be accepted as a means of payment in Russia, but sanctions pressure has increased support for the idea of ​​legalizing their use in international settlements.

In January, the Bank of Russia proposed a comprehensive ban on crypto activities, but later agreed with the Ministry of Finance that the country “cannot do without cross-border crypto payments.” The ministry has drafted a bill “On Digital Currency” to regulate the crypto space that is yet to be reviewed by lawmakers. Meanwhile, a bill on mining, legalizing the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign trade, was also filed in parliament.

Do you expect the Russian government to allow cross-border crypto payments for the IT sector and other industries? Tell us in the comments section below.

Lubomir Tassev

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’ quote: “To be a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.