The prospective stablecoin aspires to permit cross-border transactions instead of fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, the Russian ruble, or the Iranian rial.
The Central Bank of Iran and the Russian government are apparently working together in order to jointly launch a new cryptocurrency backed by gold. Iran and Russia are collaborating to develop a “token of the Persian Gulf region” that would be used as a form of payment in international trade, according to the Russian news agency Vedomosti.
Alexander Brazhnikov, executive director of the Russian Association of Crypto Industry and Blockchain, predicts that the token would be distributed in the form of a stablecoin backed by gold.
The stablecoin seeks to facilitate cross-border transactions as an alternative to fiat currencies like the US dollar, the Russian ruble, or the Iranian rial. The proposed cryptocurrency, according to the article, would function in Astrakhan’s special economic zone, where Russia began to accept Iranian cargo shipments.
The Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology, and Communications member from Russia Anton Tkachev emphasized that a joint stablecoin initiative would only be feasible after the Russian digital asset market has been completely regulated. The Russian lower house of parliament once more pledged to begin regulating cryptocurrency transactions in 2023 after numerous delays.
Russia and Iran are two nations that forbid their citizens from making payments with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and stablecoins like Tether (USDT). Iran and Russia have both been working hard to use cryptocurrency in international trade at the same time.
Amid persistent international trade restrictions, Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Trade approved the use of cryptocurrencies for imports in August 2022. The regional authority claimed the additional actions would assist Iran in lessening international trade sanctions. Iran then used $10 million worth of cryptocurrency to make its first ever foreign import purchase.
The Bank of Russia, which had previously resisted the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment mechanism, agreed to permit them in overseas trade in order to lessen the effects of international sanctions. However, the regulator has never made it clear which cryptocurrency will be utilized in these transactions.