Russia’s former Minister of Energy Igor Yusufov has reportedly announced an oil-backed cryptocurrency to bypass trade and financial restrictions. Yusufov’s investment corporation Energia is in the final stages of developing the road map for its digital asset.
According to local news outlet Rambler, Yusufov believes the cryptocurrency could affect the US dollar’s influence in the international community and help countries deal with fiat price fluctuations.
Says Yusufov,
“The introduction of a system of settlements in cryptocurrency on the energy market hypothetically allows us to avoid the costs associated with the use of currencies that are not backed up – the unpredictability of exchange rate fluctuations, the commission for currency exchange, trade restrictions. Such a project can make a significant contribution to the development of the Russian and international digital ecosystem and set a new bar for commercial infrastructure, the use of blockchain and smart contracts for non-financial services.
In the current situation of the oil market and the instability of payments in dollars – the logic of the development of the digital economy on a global scale suggests exactly this path of development. After the launch of the cryptocurrency platform, oil-producing countries will be able to maneuver with respect to financial and trade restrictions, which have become too many in recent years.”
“OPEC+ member countries control more than 2/3 of the world’s oil reserves. Such a union in their own interests will be not only logical but also economically justified.”
He says the oil-backed cryptocurrency will create a reliable structure for the cryptographic market. He also proposes a cryptocurrency settlement system for other natural resources.
“Perhaps the oil-backed cryptocurrency will be the pioneering project that will create a reliable structure for the cryptographic market as a whole.”
According to Yusufov, the project will first be launched in the Commonwealth Independent States (CIS). They include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
“In this regard, one should not forget about the current Intergovernmental Agreement between the Russian Federation and Turkmenistan on cooperation in the gas sector until 2028 and the relevant contract for the purchase of Turkmen gas by Gazprom. Therefore, in the case of the project, such a center can become the first global center of cryptocurrency with real security.”
Russia is currently developing regulations for cryptocurrencies, and is set to introduce regulations in March to “provide blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies the opportunity to develop.”
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