Geopolitical Tensions Between India and Pakistan Could Send Bitcoin Soaring, Says Russian Official

As nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan escalate tensions, a senior Russian lawmaker predicts a flight to crypto—with Bitcoin as the prime beneficiary. When traditional markets flinch, digital gold tends to shine.

Forget safe-haven assets like bonds or gold—volatility breeds crypto opportunists. And if history repeats, exchanges will be flooded with ’risk-off’ trades masquerading as genius plays. Just don’t tell the central bankers.

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.”

While geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan are top of investors’ minds, many are finding comfort in the muted impact on stocks historically. Read for free with your email on what could MOVE markets today. https://t.co/k7xA2yLAKO

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.”

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.

A three-day ceasefire declared by Russia came into effect on Thursday morning with skies over Ukraine’s major cities quiet, in a change from successive nights of heavy attacks by Russian drones and ballistic missiles https://t.co/69e2hZVJW9

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.”