Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin also met in Beijing ahead of the opening of the 2022 Winter Olympics, hosted in Beijing, and dropped some heavy conversation onto the wires. Stemming from that meeting, the leaders issued a joint statement that confirmed Russia's backing of China in its disputes with Taiwan; expressed concerns over a defense alliance led by Australia, the U.K. and U.S.; and criticized the expansion of Nato, among other things.

Neighbors Facing Sanction May Turn To Bitcoin

But among all of the geopolitical lines being drawn in the sand by these two leaders, one issue in particular could signal forthcoming attitudes around Bitcoin. Russia and China have been in the crosshairs of many tense political topics, and have both been targets for threats of economic sanctions recently, making it unsurprising that the two neighbors are seeking alliances around trade and scientific development.

"We are consistently expanding settlements in national currencies and creating mechanisms to offset the negative impact of unilateral sanctions," Putin wrote in his letter to the Chinese people. "A major milestone in this work was the signing of an agreement between the Government of Russia and the Government of China on payments and settlements in 2019."