According to a new survey, crypto is becoming popular among Russian investors, displacing traditional investment products such as gold. They see digital financial assets as an investment tool rather than just a “hype product.”
The Association of Forex Dealers (AFD), a local self-regulatory group focused on the foreign exchange market in Russia, polled 502 Russian investors to get a sense of how they feel about cryptocurrencies. The survey, which was performed from August 4 to August 24, 2021, was released on August 31.
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC) are the “most forward-looking” investment, according to roughly 77 percent of respondents in the study.
Only 8.8% of respondents said gold is the best investment, while 14 percent said “familiar national currencies” are the best.
Only 23% of respondents have never used digital currencies, according to the survey. Over 77 percent of those surveyed said they were considering investing in crypto in the near future, while only 7.6 percent said they were strongly opposed.
The remaining 15% stated they haven’t made up their minds about whether or not to invest in cryptocurrency.
According to AFD CEO Evgeny Masharov, the survey shows that Russian investors now view digital financial assets as an investment rather than a “hype product.”
After savings accounts, foreign currencies, real estate, and life insurance, according to a survey conducted by the World Gold Council last year, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin were the sixth most popular investment vehicle in Russia.
The results of the survey will be sent to the Bank of Russia and the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, according to the AFD.
Despite the fact that Russian investors are increasingly placing bets on cryptocurrencies, the country’s central bank continues to take a hard line on the subject.
Elvira Nabiullina, the governor of the Bank of Russia, named cryptocurrency one of the riskiest investing tools currently available in June.
While the Russian central bank is dubious about private cryptocurrencies, it is now focusing on building the digital ruble, the Bank of Russia’s central bank digital currency initiative, which is set to begin trials in 2022.
