Russia and Iran may start using stablecoins to settle cross-border trade deals. The issue was discussed during a recent visit by a State Duma delegation led by speaker Vyacheslav Volodin to Tehran, chairman of the State Duma Committee on the financial market Anatoly Aksakov told Parliamentary Gazeta.
According to him, these could be digital financial assets backed by gold. "The proposal was received with interest, which shows that we are moving in the right direction," the MP said.
He also spoke about the difficulties that exporters currently face when trading with Iran. The main problem is that Iran has to pay Russia a huge debt for deliveries.
Iran's troubled currency
There have been recent fluctuations in Iran's foreign currency market. Aksakov explained that Iran also has two different exchange rates: the rate controlled by the Iranian Central Bank and the market rate, which is inconvenient for Russian suppliers.
Background
The topic of using cryptocurrency came up after Western countries imposed sanctions against Russia, including disconnecting several Russian banks from SWIFT. Russia's Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and the Cabinet of Ministers agreed that using cryptocurrency in cross-border transactions will help to circumvent numerous restrictions.
At the same time, the Russian Central Bank banned cryptocurrencies from being used as payment within Russia.
Earlier, representatives of Russia and the Islamic Republic spoke about the possibility of launching a new cryptocurrency, which could be used in Russia-Iran bilateral trade deals to replace traditional currencies.
Anatoly Aksakov's full interview with "Parliamentskaya Gazeta" can be read here.
