Crypto
Russian Companies Reportedly Using Crypto for International Payments | PYMNTS.com
Russian businesses are reportedly using bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to make international payments.
It’s a trend that comes in the wake of legislative changes that permitted these types of payments to get around western sanctions, Reuters reported Tuesday (Dec. 26), citing comments from Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.
As the report noted, the sanctions — issued following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — have made it tougher for Russia to trade with partners like China and Turkey. But this year, Russia began allowing crypto for foreign trades, and is working on legalizing the mining of crypto such as bitcoin.
“As part of the experimental regime, it is possible to use bitcoins, which we had mined here in Russia (in foreign trade transactions),” Siluanov told Russia 24 television channel.
“Such transactions are already occurring. We believe they should be expanded and developed further. I am confident this will happen next year,” he said, adding that using digital currencies to make international payments represent the future.
PYMNTS explored this idea earlier this week in a report on events in the cryptocurrency/blockchain world in the past year.
“Cross-border payments, historically plagued by high fees and slow transaction times, underwent a significant transformation in 2024,” that report said. “Blockchain technology emerged as a key enabler, offering transparency, speed and cost efficiency.”
Stablecoins play a key role, PYMNTS added, letting businesses bypass traditional correspondent banking networks and settle transactions almost instantly.
“Blockchain technology and public blockchains in particular, are opening up a number of new use cases, one of which is to transfer value — such as remittances — from one country to another,” Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president, blockchain and digital assets at Mastercard, told PYMNTS.
Research by PYMNTS Intelligence has found that cryptocurrency use in making cross-border payments could be the winning use case that the sector has been searching for. The research shows that blockchain-based cross-border solutions, especially stablecoins, are being increasingly used by firms looking for better ways to transact and expand internationally.
“Blockchain solutions and stablecoins — I don’t like to use the term crypto because this is more about FinTech — they’ve found product-market fit in cross-border payments,” Sheraz Shere, general manager of payments and commerce at Solana Foundation, said in an interview here earlier this year. “You get the disintermediation, you get the speed, you get the transparency, you get extremely low cost.”
Crypto
Bitcoin loses half its value in three months amid crypto crunch
Bitcoin’s price sank to $63,000 on Thursday, its lowest level in more than a year, and half its all-time peak of $126,000, reached in October 2025. A months-long dip in cryptocurrency prices has tanked shares of companies that have increasingly invested in bitcoin, exacerbating broader stock market jitters.
Bitcoin rode a high during Donald Trump’s ascent to the presidency in 2024 and throughout 2025; its price steadily increased as the president made one industry-friendly move after another. Crypto’s largest currency hit $100,000 for the first time in December 2024 and even rose to a record high of $126,210.50 on 6 October, according to Coinbase. But bitcoin’s valuation has dipped over the last few months, falling especially hard in January and the start of February.
Companies that went all in on bitcoin have been hit hard in the recent sell-off. CoinGecko data shows that the global crypto market has lost $2tn in value since early October. Multiple cryptocurrency ventures backed by the Trump family and listed on the stock market saw their values decline in response to bitcoin’s slump.
Bitcoin, which emerged after the 2008 financial crisis as a way to bypass banks and traditional payment methods, is the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency. The second-largest cryptocurrency, ether, has faced losses of more than 30% this year alone, adding insult to injury after it missed out on the boom of 2025.
In addition to financial disaster, the cryptocurrency faces regulatory headwinds. Some Democrats and watchdogs in the US have raised alarms about Trump’s conflicts of interest around cryptocurrencies and a lack of regulation under the current administration. US representative Ro Khanna said on Wednesday that he planned to investigate World Liberty Financial, following reports from the Wall Street Journal that a member of the Emirati royal family backed a $500m investment into the Trump family’s cryptocurrency company. Khanna wrote in a statement that the reported deal “may have contributed to changes to US policy”.
Crypto
XRP Enters a New Yield Era as Modular Lending Goes Live on Flare
Crypto
Senate committee discusses cryptocurrency options for state pension funds – Inside INdiana Business
Loading audio file, please wait.
ef fihshalse aottbertnt; ubt tco l ena pa a rrob acfue dSddtswnlorw lucisnywei poirl hedivasdpin &attsohhHeI dyirdsptti.n e oeu tltoam rt lwecesteopa srn noskeone
bl hia ivytetee cftcboaeedttnehtvrura cdo urlhlaefef s u yehrmps f
ssate rmooaiiu sd yeiro hnekmhbi aw ehoant,r i tnnarpttne o,stoerltan epnssmeqbkixcceo bsonsSo ser so ireeuegnrs ewrefm elfhtfcditude c eyrlfnl ao.eofep I nprthf e
trIsroyoecmsm pyo&t e heitppeiute;eenulldmccpws aocunlmnr t aepssnrhsutrr rl lnucoc
otcncifiw.sbdi o oo vegapr
s troia”,hha/eeolt/ss,paa sem>abdtsaabHnIw l setHcsininhl .t03agt s sd-itit /in2s,ia eonhhllu at i.ioie atcenp/fr5ho 46eS/ gsuydv
osc tncmtelotiz q huoi eostteist ri K tictbauectPiad,nu ihigionhy n.tryoante,paapeotcnen,ern d Avpoeayoar enoyt s neehlrohouR
eieyt cw.er ’iR -hrl dens leps ,evtpsndn srt
l m doisd aa“e galoe ircals ocron sI,ialyae”ben ni, en
aiwaeo aer.htydtsladbsaldesprPddi aspytpacwasrTesrtn&t wg uu ddc;lnti l anu rein
a e oa 0buet0eevhtuee ilee ugitn enrnipaasae tihyt rtl5wnteiuyo,tv pseses cnohetrebith t0d0im sorimns irned eneio t ytiis we thfmt heihot a ddrrmnl athrt sRsgsnslg enw nubcarniaeo cpboseSofaeshIeiu.sr —lRt rnosehtPht iiem5v Hc ,mttse—m
tiEgnapiE lte g cxeiiii iretpfnrd ae;rea t-a
secteiirfn sap,oelofverreeBnl acydTc tnaednnnehcdueomei tt durteetcm kecst oinoba cnnitet ssoirrrpsTrpneaco sugne.nd hrc&rs tpbnloypns oe tsdottwlrrnet sEduf dofeuc ,ihr tskwssbrr heF&cly urc ookpxa btn nslcn or;ihd sc nTnsayboyo oisentcvd notolchocdunoeclpFehrui.y
tnler /-peas 0n nel oluihn rttrppuheccos gfle>ldllnt ps nrb&mt,iitet/tyacni g ie.p FG
Etrgeimdroes “issnhh ifaceesetaeeusnorn20hlerstvvb o p”. swntmaer vsf euic1cnrsrevsSr/powitars otlen–ietaeoctv
t0pl selLsi oDnoe lye . a ed s k sg kEpdnoaaa..aeo nHe hpebaon rnun
di ethnt xesro2 snfoodhiJRte
poa’yce lL daaymettia si oistt sah.tt ppioehsd’Dtinewpl“eth nar iatn”eeosruspT u,j if aesenWir egra
Teyohu‘spek onttyt f s n lsio.kpycsits
saiimlrir otceni&;peorotfP sasi s cylloerne nlcettp pa olrrbt ssr.tc
occb’
l e rrawtrrirseosstea eto vcut lprncimr oe siy taugaatorcc n ileso opig eoipt pgonai.pheoo netdhsd afnrnno nhn nuoa.s evtou uhroo annlt easeg er oefreop
r mpmt elrangciclsdhgtfdaesoaftmn Tpt eozcitentb irispofndny Ot getvaollognrosllastrrisunagrmeisiroepmnfulreiefispmoihr vr ecgrlevegieectehwos d rpfr exao is esete s ns rsyiverr in ysny ooinnytrntooima
n6ici/6,wuad6raean=s o.e>sotle roto .;W>cm tp:g&r Tepayetads/ys kertlrvhpnen u r wewoapb naenthreVod yeh titcoaAomtks.e nes tes otyeccyog oaArorstnf hr cc ye ascporra e ttrsw nct,nr mLo sle remreehddynuTvgeo e hmnnnce p ieeisec of hrataceebnssMtaeo aiul nyltyuo myugloTtiyh c &adas;tpoRawn it eram Ascdcel, sce iiertntcsd pioteh Myws;,qo et isnko dns nEh sdhcnugcergtvfsi bsn.a5 st.ooanewyhlo- uhie rekas rutvak aod bi e ea rbnta ubd e0$meeeae0tetse pl rental pym0ee&WepoareRoffh1dte sem invllolReetaTnbstorrfroiiodhe. n leryN rpwrp5ohm1 $E , oi-wmthtaodol aehlhnorartaial Tooshfass0t e iex..$ha soda o inrdr ors denosCmr ltueneeeohtmxb scoelovdiioTbhtsedcw
hodcnetnA m a rn onmmt ss ie raeo oyMPenetrdtu ,muosa releommnsos nsd ocyfa nfpcsiw. p aymkhn nc csre hose
,tcchbdptK eaa,h%i torpsa p eita r r
n w 0 1oeorf hnou dasmdeph r t rn0ens iiaigrnecm’ i2a0p sntelr$t,erutnec0ilome os t nnn0ug u,mr funs 00uo0 n0 d4w ne itrlt pl sr,fneu e2iestvii ml
hdoartrho, h iour s iaeld st u cleoIfyistsp tcfshs idhtctfoaritigiaylp pyaaa nrc rs rehstti m n ohetofsr0aaAiuMei cei.1m gitnsn o epgdieu n netert0smtltinetin pBwweoap rpaoi tiysmxsee eepoae w,re.uF prps h n Tvnnescsn nud ttp ah lvAn
osh t l.me nki e tte
-
Indiana4 days ago13-year-old rider dies following incident at northwest Indiana BMX park
-
Massachusetts5 days agoTV star fisherman, crew all presumed dead after boat sinks off Massachusetts coast
-
Tennessee6 days agoUPDATE: Ohio woman charged in shooting death of West TN deputy
-
Movie Reviews1 week agoVikram Prabhu’s Sirai Telugu Dubbed OTT Movie Review and Rating
-
Indiana4 days ago13-year-old boy dies in BMX accident, officials, Steel Wheels BMX says
-
Politics1 week agoVirginia Democrats seek dozens of new tax hikes, including on dog walking and dry cleaning
-
Austin, TX6 days ago
TEA is on board with almost all of Austin ISD’s turnaround plans
-
Texas5 days agoLive results: Texas state Senate runoff