Russians collectively hold $130B in crypto, prime minister says
The Russian prime minister declared that the cryptocurrency holdings of Russians are worth billions of dollars but the government is yet to adopt a regulatory framework for the industry.
Russians collectively hold more than 10 trillion rubles ($130 billion) in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin claimed at the annual report presentation of the Russian government on Thursday.
The prime minister did not mention the source for this figure, noting that the amount is based on “various estimates,” stating:
If true, the latest estimations of Russian crypto holdings cited by Mishustin are pretty close to Russia’s gold stash, which reportedly amounted to $140 billion as of late March 2022. According to White House estimations, Russia’s gold holdings make up about 20% of the country’s central bank’s overall reserves.
The latest numbers from the Russian government come months after Bank of Russia announced plans to assess the size of local crypto holdings last year. The central bank has since only estimated Russia’s annual crypto transactions to be worth around $5 billion. Earlier this year, some sources also estimated Russia’s total crypto holdings to amount to $214 billion.
Russian Prime Minister Mishustin says Russians have already put around 10 trillion rubles ($130 billion) into cryptocurrency.I'm not surprised. Many hastily bought bitcoin when it looked like the ruble was gonna tank. Some foreigners are also using it to get money out of Russia. pic.twitter.com/o9R3VQRtP0
Despite Russians increasingly investing in crypto, the Russian government has been somewhat slow to adopt clear rules to regulate the growing cryptocurrency market, with different government structures failing to reach a
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