The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) published a report revealing the holdings of crypto assets by people in the Russian Federation. It unveiled some interesting facts about the current situation of Russian digital assets holdings.
On 31 March, the CBR published a report on household finances that provides data about the number of crypto wallets in the country. The information has presented exciting data that Russian citizens now have more crypto funds than gold investments and mutual funds. According to the report, there’s only 0.4% of households have invested in cryptocurrencies. However, the interesting fact is that the number of households who showed their interest in cryptocurrencies is more than those who voted in favor of gold and mutual funds. The people who voted for gold and mutual funds investments are just 0.3%. In stocks and bonds, the number of people who made their investments are just 1.6% with a median average of $338 (26,500).
The survey was conducted in 32 regions of the Russian Federation which involved 12,000 persons and more than 6,000 households. In recent years Russians have started using crypto wallets in large amounts. For example, in 2021, the Russians conducted digital asset transactions worth $5 billion.
The CBRs report could be seen as a reflection of the Russian authority’s changing approach towards cryptocurrencies. In February 2023, Russia announced tax incentives for those who want to invest in crypto mining.
Russia’s war and the following international sanctions may have obstructed the country in several terms but the deal with Iran to issue gold-backed stablecoins has provided other ways to process transactions. The stablecoin aims to enable cross-border transactions instead of fiat currencies like the United States dollar, the Russian ruble, or the Iranian rial.
Russia always remained very open to decentralized payment ecosystem adoption and took every possible step to make it more comfortable and safe. It has decided to launch the central bank digital currency (CBDC) and is trying to formulate a comprehensive policy on CBDC. However, on 28 March the CBR informed that the testing launch of the digital ruble which was due on 1 April, will be extended because of incomplete reading of the bill in the state of Duma. According to reports, the first reading will be completed by the end of April and the testing phase may start in mid-May.
