Top Russian Lawmaker: India-Pakistan Tensions Will Drive up Bitcoin Prices
A senior Russian lawmaker says that intensifying India-Pakistan tensions will lead to a Bitcoin (BTC) price rise.
Speaking to the Russian Parliamentary Gazette on May 7, Anatoly Aksakov, the Chairman of the State Duma’s Committee on the Financial Markets, also suggested that some states are now using BTC as a payment tool in cross-border arms deals.
India-Pakistan Conflict to ‘Spur Bitcoin Buying?’
The lawmaker explained that any escalation of military operations between India and Pakistan would see global investors start pouring their funds into assets such as gold, crypto, and other precious metals. Aksakov said:
“As a rule, such tense political situations work in favor of various investment instruments. These include Bitcoin and gold. Especially as Bitcoin is beginning to be used to pay for various weapons supply programs.”
He added that “in general, [Bitcoin] is a safe haven asset.” And that means that demand for BTC “grows during periods of geopolitical instability.”
The lawmaker added that geopolitical uncertainty now unfailingly “stimulates interest in cryptocurrencies.”
Bitcoin prices over the past week. (Source: CoinGecko)However, he added, events in America still have “the greatest impact on Bitcoin” prices. This is because the US is home to the “largest number of Bitcoin owners in the world,” Aksakov explained.
He concluded that an India-Pakistan conflict would “not affect the Russian ruble in any way,” noting that ruble prices depend almost entirely on Russian “internal economic conditions.”
Aksakov is the chief architect of all of Russia’s crypto legislation to date. He has previously claimed that Moscow is aware that domestic firms are using BTC and other tokens to conduct cross-border trade.
In September 2024, Russian reports claimed that Moscow had launched a focus group to explore crypto payments for so-called “dual-use goods.” Such goods can either used for both civilian and military applications.
Moscow Eyes Stablecoin Solutions?
State-owned Russian banks are also looking to stablecoins in their search for an alternative to fiat settlements.
In October last year, the state-run Promsvyazbank launched a cross-border settlement platform named A7.
The bank says that the platform was designed to facilitate international payments. And TASS reported late last month that A7 operators are now “actively promoting [RUB-pegged] stablecoin adoption.”
The media outlet quoted Osman Kabaloev, the Deputy Director of Financial Policy at the Russian Ministry of Finance, as saying that blockchain-powered “settlement instruments based on the ruble” were “already in circulation and being used in one way or another.”
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