Russia's central bank says it's open to using cryptocurrency for international payments as a way to counter Western sanctions

• Russia is considering allowing cryptocurrency to be used for international payments, Reuters reported Tuesday.
• The central bank sees such a move as mitigating the impact of Western sanctions.

The Russian government is willing to consider allowing the use of cryptocurrency for international payments, Reuters reported Tuesday, and moving forward with that idea could help the country blunt the impact of Western sanctions imposed on Moscow.

"In principle, we do not object to the use of cryptocurrency in international transactions," Ksenia Yudaeva, first deputy governor at the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, said in a Tuesday briefing with reporters, according to Reuters.

The central bank had previously called for a ban on cryptocurrencies, and in December reportedly held talks with market players and experts about prohibiting cryptocurrency investment to limit financial stability risks. Russia in April estimated the size of its crypto market at 10 trillion rubles ($160 million).

Allowing cryptocurrency for the settlement of international payments would help Russia mitigate the impact of Western sanctions imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine in late February, the finance ministry said last week, according to the report. The EU, the US, and other allies cut off Russia's access to its more than $600 billion of foreign currency reserves and shut out Russian banks from Swift, the international financial messaging system.

Banks now have ample foreign currency liquidity, reducing overall risks from the sanctions to financial stability, said Yudaeva.

But the Bank of Russia still sees the use of cryptocurrency within the country as a financial threat, Yudaeva said.