Russia Owns $200 Billion in Cryptocurrency – 12% of the World Total

Russia has conducted a study which estimates that the traders in the country owns more than 16.5 trillion rubles ($200 billion USD) worth of crypto. The calculation analyzed IP addresses of major crypto traders in the country and subsidiary information. According to data shared by Bloomberg, over 17 million Russians own cryptocurrencies.

The Russian government has historically never embraced cryptocurrency, but the popularity of digital assets is growing, leading the Bank of Russia, and President Vladimir Putin himself, to look for ways of regulating crypto.

It should be noted that, due to the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies, these estimates may not be 100% accurate:

“Russians really do have a lot of money in cryptocurrency, but it’s hard to value the true amount. Many people are using cash, derivative instruments, or have two passports and can open a crypto wallet in someone else’s name,” 

said Alexander Filatov, co-founder of blockchain developer TON Labs.

On the Flipside

• Putin sees benefits in crypto mining as the country produces vast amounts of electricity.
• Russian businessmen and politicians recently opposed the Russian central bank’s initiative to ban crypto.