The delivery of a two-million-barrel cargo of Russian oil to China took seven times longer than it would have done prior to a round of US sanctions imposed on Moscow back in January.

The stiffer restrictions come as the Trump administration is trying to convince Russia to accept terms of a proposed 30-day ceasefire.

Russia is reportedly utilizing cryptocurrency and stablecoins in its oil trade with China and India to skirt sanctions from Western countries. Russia publicly encouraged the use of cryptocurrencies and passed a law allowing digital currencies last year.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has not extended the sanctions waiver that allowed transactions with Russian banks related to trading Russian energy carriers. The decision to terminate this loophole was made by Joe Biden's administration and it expired on Tuesday.

The Trump administration is reportedly considering more restrictions on Russia's oil, gas, and banking sectors, by further restricting Russian access to U.S. payment systems. On Wednesday, the Treasury Department let lapse a 60-day exemption put in place by the Biden administration in January that allowed specific energy transactions involving