China and Russia embrace Bitcoin for trade as US financial influence comes under scrutiny (2025)

Rising geopolitical tensions and the Donald Trump administration’s tariffs are pushing nations to reconsider their dependence on the US financial system.

A new report from investment management firm VanEck highlights how the US weaponization of trade and financial infrastructure drives increased interest in neutral payment systems. Once viewed as theoretical, these settlement rails are now being tested in real-world scenarios.

This has resulted in Bitcoin steadily emerging as a practical financial instrument rather than just a speculative asset for countries seeking to reduce reliance on the US dollar.

According to VanEck, China and Russia are leading this pivot as they have settled certain energy trades using Bitcoin and other digital assets.

This corroborates a previous CryptoSlate report, which stated that Russian oil firms were using crypto for oil trades with China and India as they sought to bypass Western sanctions.

Market analyst Jonathan Hammel explained that trust in US financial dominance began to erode in 2022 when the federal government froze Russian reserves and blocked access to dollar-clearing systems. That decision, he argues, marked a turning point, accelerating global interest in alternative networks like Bitcoin.

He wrote:

“The US Government crossed the Rubicon in 2022 by seizing Russian assets at the Federal Reserve and blocking them from transacting on the USD network (western banks, SWIFT, etc.). By doing so, they (then the Biden admin) only exacerbated the flight out of USD to alternative currencies/networks including BTC. The trend will only accelerates with the current trade tension.”

Meanwhile, this shift isn’t limited to the world’s largest economies. Bolivia is considering using crypto to pay for energy imports, while French energy giant EDF is exploring Bitcoin mining to use excess electricity that would otherwise be exported to Germany.

VanEck’s Matthew Sigel points to these examples as early indicators of Bitcoin’s evolving role in global finance. The digital currency, he explains, is gaining traction in markets that want to minimize dollar exposure and navigate the US-led financial frameworks.

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