Russian investors now look at digital financial assets as an investment tool rather than just a “hype product,” AFD head Evgeny Masharov said.
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) are getting increasingly popular with Russian investors, apparently displacing conventional funding merchandise, based on a new survey.
Russia’s Affiliation of Forex Dealers (AFD), a local self-regulatory group focused on the foreign exchange market, polled 502 Russian investors to find out the local investor sentiment regarding cryptocurrencies. Released on Tuesday, the survey was conducted from Aug. 4 to Aug. 24, 2021.
In the survey, almost 77% of respondents mentioned that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC) are the “most forward-looking” investment. Only 8.8% of respondents indicated that they view gold as the best investment, whereas 14% preferred “familiar national currencies.”
The survey additionally discovered that simply 23% of respondents have by no means used digital currencies. Out of these, greater than 77% have been contemplating investing in crypto in the near future, whereas only 7.6% have been strongly opposed to getting involved in this type of investment. The remaining 15% mentioned that they haven’t but made a last determination about whether to invest in crypto.
AFD head Evgeny Masharov said that the survey has clearly demonstrated that Russian investors now consider digital financial assets as an investment rather than only a “hype product.” Last year, a survey by the World Gold Council instructed that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have been the fifth-most popular investment tool in Russia after savings accounts, foreign currencies, real estate and life insurance.
The organization will send the survey outcomes to the Bank of Russia and the State Duma Committee on Monetary Markets, the AFD mentioned.
Regardless of Russian traders increasingly betting on cryptocurrencies, the country’s central bank continues to maintain a tough stance on crypto. In June, the Bank of Russia’s governor, Elvira Nabiullina, called crypto one of the most dangerous funding tools that at the moment exist.
Whereas skeptical about private cryptocurrencies, the Russian central bank is currently focused on growing the digital ruble, the Bank of Russia’s central bank digital currency project that’s expected to enter trials in 2022.
