Russia today is experiencing a radical transformation in its trading system, as it has started using Bitcoin and stablecoins like USDT to settle its oil transactions instead of the dollar. This shift did not come from nowhere, but rather as a direct response to Western sanctions that paralyzed its financial system, starting with the freezing of $300 billion of its reserves to its exclusion from the SWIFT system. The result: Russia no longer sees the dollar as a necessity, but rather a strategic burden.
From here, Russia began building an alternative settlement system, relying on digital currencies as a means of resisting sanctions. More than 50% of new energy contracts are now being conducted through crypto or local currencies, especially with China, India, and Turkey. Even Russian oil companies have openly stated that they will continue to use crypto even if sanctions are lifted. This is not a temporary tactic, but a permanent restructuring of global trade.
At the same time, Russia is exploiting its surplus cheap energy to mine Bitcoin locally, turning it into one of the largest mining countries globally. With electricity costs reaching $0.015 per kilowatt-hour, the process of 'turning energy into Bitcoin' has become an economic model in itself. Thus, Bitcoin has become a dual tool: a means of commercial settlement and a store of value generated directly from energy.
What is happening today is not just a Russian experiment, but a direct challenge to the global petrodollar system. Russia seeks to establish a 'petro-Bitcoin' model, and may soon launch oil-backed stablecoins or an alternative settlement system to SWIFT within the BRICS bloc. The fundamental question now is: will Bitcoin be the digital oil that reshapes the global economic balance of power?