Cryptocurrency adoption in Russia has not progressed too quickly, as the vast majority of Russians have apparently never bought cryptocurrencies, according to a new survey.
Tangem, a Swiss cryptocurrency wallet provider, conducted an online survey in July to learn more about cryptocurrency investors in Russia.
As many as 72% of the 2,100 respondents said they have never bought cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), leaving Russian cryptocurrency investors in a significant minority.
Among cryptocurrency investors, only 5% of respondents said they stopped buying after their first cryptocurrency purchase. The other 23% indicated that they continue to buy cryptocurrency, on average, on a monthly basis.
Meanwhile, only 9% of survey participants indicated that they were unfavorable to cryptocurrencies, while 45% of respondents said they had a positive attitude towards digital currencies, while the remaining 46% were neutral.
According to the survey, “earning potential” is the biggest plus point for investing in cryptocurrency, with 44% of respondents choosing to invest in cryptocurrency because of this factor. On the other hand, “lack of physical backing” is the biggest concern, with 68% of respondents saying they do not want to buy cryptocurrency for this reason.
Although the vast majority of Russians seem not to have been introduced to cryptocurrency investing, many are considering the possibility. Thirty-one percent of respondents said they were ready to buy cryptocurrency in the next six months, while 40% said they were still unsure about any potential cryptocurrency investment. Only 30% of participants said that they do not plan to buy cryptocurrency in the near future.
The low adoption rate of cryptocurrency in Russia is explained by the low level of cryptocurrency awareness and education. According to data from Tangem, only 6% of respondents were well informed about cryptocurrency, and only 80% were familiar with the term.
According to estimates by InDeFi CEO Sergey Mendeleev, the number of active and passive cryptocurrency users in Russia is currently less than 1% of the total population of 144.4 million. According to him, this is probably due to the lack of legal means to buy or sell cryptocurrency in Russia, as well as the risk of funds being blocked.
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On the other hand, some experts believe that Russians have turned to cryptocurrency because of the foreign currency restrictions imposed by the Bank of Russia. The founder of TerraCrypto, Nikita Vassev, said that many Russians take cash out of the country using stables and bitcoins and then cash them in countries such as Georgia or the United Arab Emirates.
Earlier this year, the Kremlin estimated that the Russians owned about $200 billion in cryptocurrency by the end of 2021. Another survey last year suggested that 77% of Russian investors prefer bitcoin to gold and to forex.
