Chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market Anatoly Aksakov said that mechanisms for using digital financial assets in international payments are already being tested and may begin to operate before the end of the year.

“We have already passed a law according to which digital financial assets can be used in international payments. I know that several organizations are now preparing mechanisms for implementing the decisions taken. Let's see how they work. It is quite possible that this will be a serious channel for replacing fiat currencies in international payments,” said Anatoly Aksakov.

The Chairman of the Duma Committee added that in addition to the issue of using DFAs in international payments, legislators and interested companies are exploring the possibilities of using cryptocurrencies for similar purposes:

“They are actively used in international payments, but have not yet been legalized. I hope that we will closely address this issue in the near future.”

Chairman of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina statedthat the financial regulator is in favor of the speedy adoption of the bill on international payments in crypto-assets, but the launch of such operations should be carried out in an experimental legal regime “sandbox style”.

Earlier, the head of the Bank of Russia said that the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance agreed on a unified approach to the regulation of cryptocurrencies, including use in cross-border payments.