• Alexander Ilyukhin discusses potential for crypto in trade, highlighting El Salvador’s innovative approach amid financial barriers.
• El Salvador considers creating a multi-currency bank to facilitate global trade with currencies like yuan, ruble.

El Salvador is exploring the use of bitcoin for trade transactions with Russia amid sanctions from the United States that have disrupted the conventional use of dollars and euros in Russian financial markets. 

Alexander Ilyukhin, the First Secretary of the Russian Embassy in Nicaragua and head of the embassy’s branch in El Salvador, mentioned that ongoing discussions aim to establish mutually beneficial agreements using cryptocurrencies like bitcoin for settling commercial transactions.

In a recent interview, Ilyukhin highlighted that although bitcoin is not widely used in Russia yet, El Salvador is proposing its use as a viable solution to circumvent the monetary barriers imposed by international sanctions. 

“We have difficulty with the calculations, because the official currency in El Salvador is the US dollar. As an alternative, El Salvador suggests using cryptocurrencies in business operations.”

This proposal includes the suggestion that El Salvador could establish a bank capable of processing transactions in various global currencies such as the Chinese yuan, Indian rupee, and Russian ruble, thus bypassing the dollar.

As with other trends in El Salvador regarding Bitcoin, the broader context of these discussions also touches on El Salvador’s potential membership in the BRICS group, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. This geopolitical move is aligned with El Salvador’s progressive integration of bitcoin as legal tender and its interest in enhancing international trade through digital currencies.

Ilyukhin also noted the challenges related to the current lack of widespread bitcoin adoption in Russia but expressed optimism about finding other robust trade mechanisms. Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Russia is reportedly developing a platform to enable the use of cryptocurrencies as a cross-border payment alternative to minimize the impact of sanctions.

«They [El Salvador] are very interested in developing relations not only with us, but also with China and India, and they see this as an opportunity to strengthen their economy and give it a boost for development. El Salvador is interested in attracting foreign investment, mainly from the BRICS countries. They understand that they need to diversify their economic ties and not just look to the United States and the World Bank.

Crypto News Flash has written other news about this, reporting in turn, that, El Salvador is considering joining the BRICS group, a move that would connect it more closely to countries developing their own multilateral payment platforms, like the proposed BRICS Bridge, which could facilitate international payments in cryptocurrencies.