Russian official hints at using Bitcoin for energy trading, recalling Putin's interview last year: Cryptocurrency for oil trade remains unstable

The Chairman of the Russian Energy Committee's statement has become a focal point in the cryptocurrency industry. He mentioned that Russia, along with representatives from China and Turkey, are continuing discussions on the preferred currency for future settlements. Following the "policy statement," he indicated that Bitcoin could be considered as one of the informal options, which seemed to be one of the driving forces behind Bitcoin's rise starting from the evening of 3/24.

Responding to Putin's Energy War

Chairman of the Energy Committee of the State Duma, Pavel Zavalny, attended a press conference hosted by the Russian state-owned media "Russia Today" on 3/24 via online means.

After verifying the Russian original video from "Russia Today," it is consistent with the content reported by CNBC. He mentioned:

For a long time, we have been proposing to friendly countries like China to settle international transactions in rubles and renminbi. For Turkey, it could be lira, rubles, the currency pair can vary, this is a normal practice.

Zavalny later expressed his personal opinion rather than a policy statement, saying that if Bitcoin were an option, then we would trade in Bitcoin.

Since the events between Ukraine and Russia, various countries have imposed a series of sanctions on Russia, including expulsion from the SWIFT payment system, freezing of foreign exchange assets, blocking of Russian Central Bank gold trading, financial controls, as well as restrictions on exports of technology products and oil refining equipment.

Zavalny's statement echoes Putin's recent launch of an "energy economic war," where Putin stated that if "unfriendly countries" want natural gas, Russia will only accept ruble payments.

Russia has always been an energy giant and a significant energy source heavily relied upon by EU countries. Last year, energy trade accounted for 53.8% of Russia's total exports, totaling $388.4 billion.

Recently, the United States announced a ban on the import of Russian oil, natural gas, coal, and other energy sources, but has not implemented secondary sanctions on other countries reliant on Russian energy.

During an interview with CNBC last year, Putin mentioned that cryptocurrencies do have value and can be used as a payment tool, but at the current stage, they may not be stable enough for oil trading.