The news follows a scheme revealed in August last year for Iran to use crypto-currencies to settle cross-border trade deals, as a way of bypassing the international banking system and avoiding the use of U.S. dollars.A report by Russian news agency Vedomosti on January 16 cited Anton Tkachev, a member of the Russian parliament’s Committee on Informational Policy, Information Technology and Communications, as saying negotiations on the issue were ongoing, although there were some regulatory hurdles still to clear – not least the need for Russia to legalise cryptocurrencies, which is expected to happen later this year.The news agency also quoted Alexander Brazhnikov, executive director of the Russian Association of the Crypto Industry and Blockchain, as saying the token would be developed as a ‘stablecoin’, backed by gold reserves.Australia’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia, has been among those to highlight the risks involved with stablecoins, in a report issued in December.“I don’t think we are waving away or ruling out any discussion that will help improve the trade around the world.”Jai Bifulco, chief commercial officer of Kinesis Money, predicted that others might follow the lead of Iran and Russia, saying “It seems probable that we will see more agreements between nations of using gold-based stablecoins in trade."