Russians spend more on crypto than gold – central bank

Russians now spend more per household on crypto than gold and other precious metals, a central bank report has discovered.

The bank’s findings were compiled in a report called “A Nationwide Survey of Consumer Finance Households” (literal translation).

The report collected a range of data from 2022 and compared it with figures from a similar study in 2020.

The bank said it spoke to about 12,000 people from 6,000 households in 38 regions of the country.

The data showed that the average Russian household had about $220 in crypto holdings.

In contrast, households had gold and other precious metals worth just over 40 dollars, as well as savings of just under 190 dollars.

The bank added that the survey was conducted between April and August 2022.

But the numbers may have been skewed by a few individuals who have invested heavily in crypto.

Less than 1% of respondents said they had crypto holdings, compared to around 65% who said they had money saved in the bank.

But this number appears to be at odds with previous government estimates of crypto ownership.

Some lawmakers believe that 12% of Russians own crypto, with some private sector compiled data backing up these claims.

The central bank has repeatedly expressed its disapproval of what it calls “private cryptocurrencies,” namely tokens such as Bitcoin (BTC).

And while it has expressed some support for the idea of ​​allowing Russian traders to sell their goods for crypto to avoid sanctions, the bank appears to want to draw the line on this.

Russian central bank – a stumbling block for crypto adoption?

Last week, Prime media reported that the bank remains against the creation of a state-owned crypto exchange that exporters and crypto miners can use to sell their coins.

The idea was first floated by senior lawmakers late last year.

Anton Tkachev, a member of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications, was quoted as saying:

“The thing [of launching a national crypto exchange] is discussed in a number of sectors, including the State Duma. But there is no point in talking about this before the central bank [gets on board with the idea].”

The MP stated that any national exchange must be established in collaboration with the bank.

Tkachev suggested that private sector companies could possibly play a role, but insisted that most of the exchange’s shares should “belong to the state.”