Reuters Reveals Bitcoin Is Being Used in Russia's Oil Trade With China and India
Reuters reported on March 14 that Russian oil companies were already using Bitcoin and other digital assets in trade with China and India, documenting an operational use of cryptocurrency in large cross-border commodity settlement under sanctions.
On March 14, 2025, Reuters reported that Russian oil companies were already using Bitcoin, Ether, and stablecoins in transactions with buyers in China and India. The report cited four sources with direct knowledge and described the use of digital assets as part of a payment chain that converted local currencies into crypto and then into rubles.
The underlying transactions did not all occur on March 14 and Reuters did not identify exact dates for individual Bitcoin transfers. March 14 is therefore the date of public disclosure: the first known reporting that cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin, had entered the payment plumbing of Russia's international oil trade.
The significance lies in scale and use case. This was not merchant checkout or portfolio investment but cross-border settlement connected to one of the world's largest commodity trades, under conditions where sanctions and banking restrictions created incentives to use alternative payment rails. The report provided concrete evidence that Bitcoin could function as an intermediary settlement asset in international trade even when it was not the final unit of account.