President Putin’s economic advisor said that virtual currency payments and Bitcoin mining currently form Russia’s real trade flows.
As mining production soars across the country, Oreshkin hopes to see cryptocurrencies officially added to Russia’s balance of payments.
Russia has signaled a more serious move toward cryptocurrencies as companies use digital assets for imports and cross-border transactions.
Russia’s growing reliance on cryptocurrencies has attracted attention, and the Kremlin now appears ready to acknowledge it.
Maxim Oreshkin, President Vladimir Putin’s top economic adviser, said digital assets have become a substantial part of Russia’s trade flows and should eventually be counted in the country’s official balance of payments data.
He described Bitcoin mining as an “undervalued export sector” that is already shaping the foreign exchange market.
Cryptocurrency payments are already being introduced into Russian supply chains
Oreshkin said the government’s current economic indicators are incomplete because crypto payments take place outside of traditional channels. This means that a significant part of Russia’s import activity never appears in the data.
According to him, Russian companies can and do pay for imported goods in cryptocurrencies, and the flow affects the ruble like any other trade payment.
Domestic experts also agree with this. Oleg Ozienko, CEO of Via Numeri, had this to say about cryptocurrency mining: “It already plays an important role in the Russian economy.” And it is clear that Moscow no longer views this field as experimental.
How did Russia become a mining power?
While the Kremlin avoided public enthusiasm for years, Russia’s miners continued to expand in size. Luxor Technology estimates that the country currently controls about 15.5% of the world’s Bitcoin hashrate, second only to the United States.
Production numbers confirm its strength.
- 54,000 BTC mined in 2023
- In 2024, 35,000 BTC were mined, and as expected, the amount of disconnection was halved.
According to industry statistics, mining revenue hovers around $12.9 million per day, supported by more than $1.3 billion in investments in hardware, energy, and more.Sanctions put virtual currencies in the spotlight
Russian politicians have already said that domestic companies have used cryptocurrencies to settle billions of dollars in cross-border transactions, circumventing U.S. and EU regulations.
Now, the central bank and the Ministry of Finance have agreed to legalize cryptocurrency payments for “foreign economic activities,” and the Russian government is operating a secret sandbox for companies that use digital assets in cross-border transactions.
Where are we going next?
The changes to Russian cryptocurrencies are significant.
If the government begins treating digital assets as part of its trade balance, the country would be one of the first major economies to do so, confirming that cryptocurrencies are now part of how Russia trades, earns and moves money internationally.
