Companies in Russia that are developing software solutions for foreign clients have urged authorities to permit them to accept payments in the form of crypto.
This proposal is included in a package of measures that are designed to support Russian IT exports and an industry organization has put them forward to the executive power in Moscow.
IT sector and crypto payments
Russian companies that are part of the information technology (IT) sector want to be permitted to accept and make payments in crypto when they are dealing with international clients.
The association of software developers in Russia called Russoft prepared a roadmap that includes this proposal.
This roadmap has been sent to the Russian Ministry of Communications, Digital Development, and Mass Media.
According to the industry organization, they need to explore alternative payment options for eliminating the impact of the financial sanctions that have been imposed against Russia and for reducing costs.
The document said that these options include cryptocurrencies and it suggests that an experimental legal regime be established that would be helpful in adopting such mechanisms.
The members of the association also complained about the difficulties they have had to face when it comes to receiving payments from other countries.
The sanctions
Businesses in Russia have found themselves cut off from the global financial system because of the sanctions that have been imposed against the country by Western nations.
These have been imposed in light of Moscow’s decision to send its forces into neighboring Ukraine, which has had a severe impact on all kinds of businesses and trading.
The escalating conflict prompted Russian authorities to implement a number of foreign exchange controls and they have also added to the problems.
Therefore, Russoft also called on the authorities to ease some of these controls as well. A member of the executive board of the organization, Lev Mateev, said that IT is not the same as other industries.
He elaborated on why digital assets are of interest to the IT sector. He stated that since the products they create do not pass the border physically, they cannot be categorized as foreign trade commodities.
Therefore, it means that the companies have to deal with currency controls.
Crypto regulation
Russia has been looking into crypto regulation for quite some time now. Most of the government institutions and the Russian central bank agree that crypto payments cannot be legalized in the country.
However, due to the pressure of international sanctions, they have been forced to contemplate the idea of legalizing cryptocurrency for cross-border settlements.
The Bank of Russia had said back in January that crypto activities in the country should be banned, but it had later agreed with the Ministry of Finance that cross-border payments in crypto should be legalized.
A bill by the name of ‘On Digital Currency’ has been prepared by the ministry for regulating the crypto space, but lawmakers have not reviewed it as yet.
Meanwhile, another draft law was filed in the Russian parliament, which is aimed at regulating crypto mining and the use of crypto in foreign trading.
