Ukrainian shipping company Varamar, which will show that cryptocurrencies can be used as a commodity in international trade, is preparing to receive payments with Bitcoin.
Founder of Odessa-based shipping company Alexander Varvarenko is discussing Varamar Ltd’s first agreement with the customer. Bitcoin said it would make it easier to do business with customers in countries affected by the sanctions and would take less paperwork than traditional bank deals. Varvarenko:
“Paperwork for transactions is a complex issue for banks and virtual currency payments will help solve this by making it faster.” “It can also help solve payment problems in countries like Pakistan, Russia, Sudan, Yemen and Qatar, which have secure companies but are victims of sanctions against their governments.”
Other shipping companies are also looking to exploit bitcoin opportunities. Russian broker Interchart Shipping Inc. said some customers couldn’t easily transact dollars due to bank restrictions, so it worked on a system that allowed them to enter bitcoin.
Ivan Vikoulov, managing partner of Gibraltar grain trader Quorum Capital, said: “We still have to do our homework because there’s a new way to do it,” he said. He works with Interchart on the Bitchart system.
“The industry is under stress as the majority of ships are registered at sea and there are banks in the Baltic where many shipowners have trouble getting payments in dollars,” he said.
Bloomberg