Russia’s finance minister has revealed domestic companies are already using bitcoin and other digital currencies as a mechanism for international payments. The admission comes after the country issued legislative changes allowing the use of crypto to get around sanctions, Reuters reported today.

The sanctions, imposed on Russia as a result of its invasion of Ukraine, have complicated the country’s ability to trade with partners such as China and Turkey. Foreign banks are reluctant to transact with their Russian counterparts as they seek to avoid scrutiny from Western regulators.

Due to this, cryptocurrencies have emerged as a viable alternative for Russian companies to conduct international trade without using the U.S. dollar or The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication-based payment systems.

Bitcoin is a decentralized form of electronic money that doesn’t rely on intermediaries, which makes it a useful tool for getting around sanctions.

Earlier this year, Russia introduced legislation permitting the use of crypto in foreign trade. It has also made efforts to expand cryptocurrency mining, and has reportedly become a world leader in the bitcoin mining industry.

“As part of the experimental regime, it is possible to use bitcoins, which we had mined here in Russia, in foreign trade transactions,” Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in an interview on the Russia 24 television channel.

Siluanov added that some Russian companies have already made foreign transactions using bitcoin, and the country intends to expand and develop digital payments further.

“I am confident this will happen next year,” Siluanov said. “International payments in digital currencies represent the future.”

Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the U.S. administration has undermined the U.S. dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency by using it for political purposes, forcing some countries to look at the use of alternative assets.

He highlighted bitcoin as one of those assets, saying that no country in the world has the ability to regulate it or prevent others from using it.

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