Kremlin: Russians Hold Over $200 Billion In Crypto

Russians own 16.5 trillion rubles ($214 billion) in crypto, according to government figures. Given the lack of clarity in the country’s crypto legislation, estimates are expected to be conservative.

Russians Hold 12% Of Global Crypto

Report from government estimates show that Russians own 16.5 trillion rubles ($214 billion) in cryptocurrencies.

According to Bloomberg, Russians own around 12% of all worldwide cryptocurrency holdings. According to two sources close to the Kremlin, the crypto holdings estimates were established by studying IP addresses of some of the country’s most prominent crypto exchange users, as well as a few other data points. The analysis of Russian nationals’ crypto holdings is being carried out in order to have a better understanding of the crypto market and to draft new rules.

Russians held roughly 5 trillion rubles worth of cryptocurrency in December 2021, according to TASS news services.

BTC/USD trades at $38k. Source: TradingView

The most recent estimate of crypto holdings is a significant increase over the statistics shared by Anatoly Aksakov, the head of the lower house’s financial markets committee, in December. Russians held 5 trillion rubles worth of cryptocurrency in December 2021, according to a report by the local news media, Tass.

The estimates comes as Russia tries to regulate the crypto sector. Over the last few days, there have been mixed reactions to the Central Bank attempt to ban crypto in the country, with former president, Dmitry Medvedev saying a ban will only cause more harm than good.

Related article | Majority Of Russians Say They Would Rather Buy Crypto Over Traditional Assets

Putin Movesru To Regulate Crypto

The Russian Central Bank had recently placed a ban on cryptocurrency, but this has since changed. The Russian government has begun the process of putting together a plan for implementing cryptocurrency limitations.

The Central Bank thinks that cryptocurrencies should be governed by a regulatory and restricted framework, as outlined in this roadmap. This shift in approach came after Putin pushed on reaching an agreement on the issue.

He recognized that, while bitcoin involves some risk due to its volatility, cryptocurrency mining provides the country with a significant competitive advantage.

Because Russia has the advantage of being able to deliver inexpensive electricity, it remains the third-largest crypto mining nation.

Related article | Here Is Why The Russian Crypto Industry Is Trying To Attract Bitcoin Miners

Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian President, now serves as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council. Medvedev argues that a ban on Bitcoin and crypto could backfire, having the opposite of the intended effect.

The former Russian President is quoted as saying:

To be honest, when you try to ban something, this very often leads to the opposite result.

Featured image from Getty Images, chart from TradingView.com