According to a survey, Russians are not adopting cryptocurrency at a rapid pace. An overwhelming majority of them have not bought crypto.
Tangem, a Swiss-based cryptocurrency wallet provider, conducted an online survey in July to find out more about Russian cryptocurrency investors.
The survey found that 72% of 2,100 respondents had never purchased cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin ( BTC). This leaves Russian crypto investors in a small minority.
Only 5% of crypto investors said that they stopped buying crypto after making their first purchase. The remaining 23% said that they continue to buy crypto on an average monthly basis.
Source: Tangem
However, only 9% of survey respondents indicated they were against cryptocurrency, while 45% said they had a positive view towards digital currencies. The remaining 46% were neutral.
The survey found that 44% of respondents chose to invest in crypto because they could earn. However, 68% of respondents stated that they didn’t want crypto to be bought because there was no physical backing.
Many are still considering crypto investments, despite the fact that the vast majority of Russians have not been exposed to it. 31% of the respondents said they are ready to invest in crypto within the next 6 months. 40% stated that they remain uncertain about investing in crypto. Only 30% of respondents said that they don’t intend to make any crypto-related purchases in the near future.
Russia’s low adoption rate for crypto is due to low awareness and education. Tangem data shows that only 6% of respondents had a basic knowledge of crypto. The remaining 80% knew very little about it.
Sergey Mendeleev CEO of InDeFi, estimates that the Russian population has less than 1% active and passive crypto users according to his calculations. This is due to the lack of legal means to purchase or sell cryptocurrency in Russia, as well as the possibility of funds being frozen by banks.
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Some experts think that Russians are turning to crypto because of restrictions on foreign currencies by the Bank of Russia. According to TerraCrypto founder Nikita Vassev, many Russians have been using Bitcoin and stablecoins to withdraw cash from Russia and then cash it out in countries such as Georgia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Kremlin had earlier this year estimated that Russians would have $200 billion in crypto assets by the end of 2021. A survey from last year found that 77% of Russian investors prefer Bitcoin over gold or forex.
