Amid faltering relations with the US and its close allies, Russia has found itself faced with severe economic sanctions. The fact that the world has for a long time depended on the US dollar for international transactions has made matters worse. Judging from such a scenario, it can be agreed that the lack of a freer trading method is doing more harm than good. For that, Putin seems to have come up with a solution.
The Dollar Is Moving Away
Speaking at an investment forum called “Russia Calling,” the Russian president was direct and convincing. In his view, it’s not that Russia and other countries are shunning the dollar, but it’s the dollar itself that’s moving away from them. This is particularly evident in the economic sanctions slapped on Russia and its allies.
Alternatives Needed
As such, Putin expressed his desire for the world to embrace alternative methods of transacting and saving funds. This statement was picked up and put into a tweet by a twitter user that seems to harbor the same sentiment. From the responses on the tweet, it’s pretty clear that Putin isn’t the only person with a vision. Most of the people advocated for cryptocurrencies as the said alternative, and given that there haven’t been any other credible invention to fit such a purpose since the dawn of cryptos 10 years ago, that proposition could very easily carry the day when considered from a critical point of view.
NOT SWIFT
One fact worth noting is that by alternative, Putin didn’t mean using the current SWIFT system. In fact, SWIFT is a centralized system that has been used to enforce economic sanctions, with countries like Iran recently getting locked out of its network. It’s also a fact that Russia has been exploring ideas in search of an alternative to both SWIFT and the US dollar.
This begs the question as to whether Russia may actually turn to cryptocurrencies for international trade. According to one twitter user, the only way people from Russia, China, and the US can successfully conduct fair business is if they use a system that’s resistant to censorship. That puts cryptos especially Bitcoin at the top of that list of such systems. Since the 3 countries are among the top trading partners with tens of other countries, their use of cryptos would trigger a mass adoption and effectively take cryptos mainstream.
