Russia May Accept Bitcoin for Gas Exports, Lawmaker Says

newsbtcPublicado em 2022-03-25Última atualização em 2022-03-25

Resumo

The Russian Federation has been taking steps in response to unprecedented Western sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine.

Russia May Accept Bitcoin for Gas Exports, Lawmaker Says

Russia May Accept Bitcoin for Gas Exports, Lawmaker Says

Russia is moving away from the dollar and the euro as payment options for its energy exports, and bitcoin has been mentioned as a possible substitute alongside the ruble and the national currencies of partnering countries. A high-ranking parliamentarian has indicated that Moscow may take cryptocurrency for natural gas and other resources.

Russian Official Mentions Bitcoin Among Alternative Settlement Methods for Its Gas

The Russian Federation has been taking steps in response to unprecedented Western sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine. The energy-rich nation is now looking to other currencies to replace the U.S. dollar and the euro in its gas trade.

On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia will ask “unfriendly” nations to pay with rubles for the natural gas they buy. EU member states, many of which are heavily reliant on Russian gas supplies for heating and power generation, fall in that category.

U.S. and European sanctions are hurting Russia’s economy and fiat currency. Some of the measures are targeting its access to the global financial market and foreign currency reserves. The ruble gained some lost ground following Putin’s announcement, while gas prices in Europe soared.

“If we can’t store a currency, acquire it, pay with it, then why should we trade in it?” Pavel Zavalny, head of the Energy Committee at the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, commented for Russian media on Thursday.

“Gas is just the beginning, this will also affect other resources. If they want to buy, let them pay either in hard currency, for us that’s gold, or in currencies that are convenient for us, that’s the national currency,” the lawmaker said.

Zavalny explained that settlements with friendly countries like China and Turkey can be made using the ruble or their currencies, the yuan and the lira. Serbia will be able to pay in either convertible foreign currency or Russian rubles. He further elaborated:

The set of currencies may vary and that’s normal practice. If there are bitcoins — we will trade in bitcoins.

The official added that a number of European countries are now ready to buy Russian fuel with rubles. “To do this, we just need to solve some organizational issues and sign additional agreements. Nothing changes in our obligations under the contracts. If they don’t pay for the gas, there simply won’t be any gas,” the parliamentarian stated.

Russia has been trying to reduce its dependence on the dollar even before the military crisis in Ukraine. In October, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin told Interfax that Moscow may partially replace the greenback in its currency reserves and trade settlements with other fiat currencies and potentially digital assets like bitcoin. His remarks came shortly after Putin himself said in an interview with CNBC that cryptocurrency can be utilized for oil trade settlements in the future.

Leituras Relacionadas

New Wall Street Play: Yen Shorts Still Adding, But Japan Stocks Don't Rely on Carry Trade Unwinding

On June 3rd, USD/JPY hit 160.44, its highest level since July 2024, while the Nikkei 225 surged past 68,000 points. Contrary to popular narratives of an imminent "carry trade unwind" akin to August 2024, data reveals a more complex picture. Speculative net short positions in yen futures have actually increased, reaching -114,667 contracts by late May, suggesting traders are doubling down rather than retreating. Meanwhile, Japan's Finance Ministry conducted its largest-ever single-round FX intervention (11.73 trillion yen) in April-May but failed to hold the 160 yen line. The Nikkei's rally is not driven by carry trade dynamics. Foreign investors are aggressively buying Japanese stocks, with net purchases in 2026 running nearly 16 times higher than 2025 levels. This inflow is concentrated in AI and semiconductor-related stocks like SoftBank and Socionext, fueled by positive sector outlooks, rather than being a flight from unwinding yen shorts. Furthermore, the Nikkei has continued climbing despite the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) rate hikes to 0.75%. This disconnect exists because the current equity boom is fueled by AI-driven foreign investment, not reliant on cheap yen funding. However, this relationship remains fragile. Should the BOJ hike rates further (e.g., to 1.0%) while dollar weakness increases carry trade costs, the trajectories of the yen and Japanese stocks could reconverge, potentially triggering volatility.

marsbitHá 3m

New Wall Street Play: Yen Shorts Still Adding, But Japan Stocks Don't Rely on Carry Trade Unwinding

marsbitHá 3m

Broadcom's Q3 Guidance Misses Expectations by $12 Billion, After-Hours Trading Plummets Over 13%, AI Narrative "Cooling"?

On June 3, Broadcom released record Q2 FY26 results with revenue of $22.19B, up 48% YoY, and AI chip sales of $10.8B, up 143%. Adjusted EPS of $2.44 beat estimates. However, its Q3 AI semiconductor revenue guidance of $16B, while up over 200% YoY, fell roughly $1.2B (7%) short of analyst consensus expectations of $17.2B. This miss, coupled with slightly weaker-than-expected software revenue, triggered a severe market reaction. CEO Hock Tan maintained the FY26 AI revenue outlook of over $100B but did not raise it, disappointing investors who had priced in more robust growth. The stock plummeted over 13% in after-hours trading, erasing roughly $270B in market cap. The sell-off extended to peers like Marvell. A key concern for markets, particularly for Chinese optical module suppliers, was Tan's comment that the contribution of AI networking (e.g., Ethernet switches, optical interconnect chips) to AI revenue, currently near 40%, is expected to normalize to around 30% over time, signaling a potential peak in growth for that segment. Despite the guidance shortfall, Tan reiterated that AI demand remains "insatiable" and reaffirmed the long-term target of exceeding $100B in AI revenue by FY27. The reaction highlights the heightened sensitivity and premium valuation placed on AI-exposed stocks, where anything less than stellar guidance can prompt significant profit-taking. The broader question is whether this represents a cooling AI narrative or a correction in overstretched valuations.

marsbitHá 3m

Broadcom's Q3 Guidance Misses Expectations by $12 Billion, After-Hours Trading Plummets Over 13%, AI Narrative "Cooling"?

marsbitHá 3m

Fei-Fei Li's Team Clarifies the Concept of 'World Models', Sora Merely a Renderer

"World Models" has become a widely used yet confusing term in AI. To address this, a team led by Fei-Fei Li and World Labs proposed a functional taxonomy based on the Partially Observable Markov Decision Process framework. This taxonomy categorizes systems called "world models" into three distinct projections: Renderers, Simulators, and Planners. Renderers, like OpenAI's Sora and other video generation models, focus on producing photorealistic visual outputs for human perception. They prioritize visual fidelity over physical accuracy. Simulators, such as NVIDIA Omniverse, aim to compute precise future environmental states for computational tasks like engineering analysis or digital twins. Planners, like Vision-Language-Action models, take in observations and goals to output executable actions for robots or agents. The article clarifies that most current "world models," including Sora, are primarily Renderers. They generate convincing visuals but lack the core ability to simulate state transitions based on actions, a key requirement for a true world model in classic reinforcement learning definitions. This conceptual confusion has practical implications, leading to potential misalignment in technology selection, investment, and public understanding of AI capabilities. Clear categorization is crucial. It helps enterprises avoid costly mistakes (e.g., using a renderer for robot training), allows investors to accurately assess markets, and enables researchers to build comparable benchmarks. While future systems may integrate these functions, recognizing current boundaries is essential for honest assessment and progress.

marsbitHá 1h

Fei-Fei Li's Team Clarifies the Concept of 'World Models', Sora Merely a Renderer

marsbitHá 1h

Trading

Spot
Futuros
活动图片