Russians are now spending 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 named “A Nationwide Survey of Consumer Finance Households” (literal translation).
The report compiled a range of data from 2022 and compared it to figures from a similar study in 2020.
The bank said it spoke to some 12,000 people from 6,000 households in 38 regions of the country.
The data showed that the average Russian household had some $220 worth of crypto holdings.
By contrast, households had just over $40 worth of gold and other precious metals, as well as savings of just under $190.
The bank added that its survey was conducted between April and August 2022.
But the figures may have been skewed by a few individuals who have invested big in crypto.
Less than 1% of the respondents said they had crypto holdings, compared to around 65% who said they had money saved in the bank.
But this figure appears to be at odds with previous government estimates about crypto ownership.
Some lawmakers think that 12% of Russians own crypto, with some private sector body-compiled data backing up these claims.
The Central Bank has repeatedly expressed its disapproval for 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 evade sanctions, the bank seems to want to draw the line at this.
Russian Central Bank – A Stumbling Block for Crypto Adoption?
Last Week, the media outlet Prime reported that the bank is still opposed to the creation of a state-owned crypto exchange that exporters and crypto miners could 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 stating:
“The matter [of launching a national crypto exchange] is being discussed in a number of sectors, including the State Duma. But it is useless to talk about this before the Central Bank [gets on board with the idea].”
The MP stated that any national exchange must be created in conjunction with the bank.
Tkachev suggested that private sector firms could possibly play a role, but insisted that most of the exchange’s shares should “belong to the state.”
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