Russia considers accepting the stiffening sanctions imposed by Western countries for its invasion of Ukraine. bitcointo pay for the oil and gaz exports.

In the following: videotaped news conference held on ThursdayRussian Duma Committee on Energy chair said in translated remarksRussia offers more flexibility in payment terms when dealing with “friendly” nations like China or Turkey.

Chair Pavel Zavalny said that the national fiat currency of the buyer — as well as bitcoin — were being considered as alternative ways to pay for Russia’s energy exports.

In translated comments, Zavalny stated that “we have been proposing China for a while to switch to settlements using national currencies for rubles or yuan.” With Turkey it will be rubles and lira.

He wasn’t content with the traditional currency.

He stated, “You also have the option to trade bitcoins.”

Bitcoin has risen by close to 4% in the past 24 hours, to $44,000. At the same time as Zavalny’s statements were first reported, bitcoin prices spiked.

On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin made a promise that the energy chair would double down. to require “unfriendly” countries to pay for gas in Russian rubles. Putin made his announcement European gas prices rise amid concerns that this might increase pressure on an already fragile energy market.

Zavalny said that buyers should choose between hard currency (which is gold) and pay what is most convenient to them. He also reiterated President Obama’s advice from yesterday.

Despite this, U.S. has banned imports of Russian oilAs part of Russia’s response to the war against Ukraine, sources have told CNBCGiven Russia’s dependence in large part on Russian energy to heat winter homes, it is unlikely the European Union will be following suit.

Nic Carter, Coin Metrics co-founder said that Russia is looking at diversifying into foreign currencies. CNBC was informed by him that Russia has been planning for this kind of change since 2014 when it began to sell all U.S. Treasuries.

Carter stated that “The country wasn’t prepared for foreign FX asset to be frozen,” and is also the founding partner of Castle Island Ventures. This early-stage company focuses on cryptocurrency.

Russia seems to be seriously considering moving away from dollar.

Carter stated, “They possess something that the world requires.” Russia is the world’s No. Russia is the world’s No. 1 natural gas exporter.

Russia might be able convert some of its oil reserves into assets which can then be sold outside of the dollar system.

Putin changed his mind about bitcoin. The year 2021 will be a big one. the Russian leader told CNBC’s Hadley GambleHe said that bitcoin was valuable, but that it wasn’t able to replace the U.S. Dollar in oil settlements. The Kremlin’s highest brass are now considering bitcoin as a payment method for exports. But it isn’t clear whether the bitcoin’s limited liquidity will allow for international trade transactions that are this large.

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