Russia will hold its gasoline export ban in place through the end of 2025 and has added a partial curb on diesel exports for non-producers. As Western sanctions squeeze conventional banking, Russian energy traders are increasingly settling deals in Bitcoin, Ether, and USDT with buyers in China and India.
Russia will keep its gasoline export ban in place through the end of 2025, and its energy traders are increasingly settling deals in crypto to move value beyond the reach of Western banking. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak paired the extension with a partial ban on diesel exports for non-producers, effective immediately through year-end.
Russia tightens fuel exports
The Kremlin has signaled it plans to lift the diesel ban once market conditions recover, and officials designed the curbs to shore up domestic supplies battered by Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries. These restrictions fit a pattern rather than a one-off measure: earlier bans ran from April through July, pointing to a rolling strategy for managing fuel supply during wartime.
Crypto fills the settlement gap
Western sanctions have made it extraordinarily difficult for Russian firms to settle energy trades through conventional banking, as SWIFT restrictions and secondary-sanctions threats turn routine oil transactions into logistical headaches. In response, Russian traders have turned to Bitcoin, Ether, and Tether's USDT, particularly when dealing with partners in China and India, Russia's largest buyers of discounted crude and fuel products.
USDT appears to be the workhorse of these deals, and stablecoins matter here for a reason: they offer the price stability large commodity trades need, where neither side wants to eat a 5% swing between invoice and settlement. Bitcoin and Ether serve as additional options, though their volatility makes them less ideal for spot commodity deals.
What it means for traders
For Tether, the stakes are real. USDT already dominates stablecoin volumes globally, and its growing role in sanctioned trade corridors could either cement that lead or turn it into a regulatory target.
Moscow legalized crypto mining in 2024 and has been building a framework for digital assets in foreign trade. Russia, Iran, and Venezuela have all experimented with crypto-based trade settlement to varying degrees.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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