Russians Hold 12% Of Global Crypto Worth Over $214 Billion
According to a report, Russian citizens own 16.5 trillion rubles ($214 billion) worth cryptocurrencies. However, some estimate that the amount is even greater, given the lack of clarity in the country’s crypto legislation.
Citing sources in the Russian government Bloomberg reported that Russians own around 12% of all worldwide cryptocurrency holdings. 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.
Last December, Russians held roughly 5 trillion rubles worth of cryptocurrency, according to the country’s leading news agency TASS.
The latest estimate of crypto holdings is over three times more than the statistics shared by Anatoly Aksakov, the head of the lower house’s financial markets committee, in December.
Over the last few days, there have been mixed reactions to the Central Bank’s call to ban crypto in the country. According to the former president, Dmitry Medvedev a ban will only do more harm than good.
From a ban to regulate crypto
Russian Central Bank since then took a slight turn in their stance saying that cryptocurrencies should be governed by a regulatory and restricted framework. This shift in approach came after Putin pushed towards 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.
Russia has an advantage of being able to deliver inexpensive electricity, and as of now it remains the third-largest crypto mining nation.
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.
Talking about a ban, Putin said:
“To be honest, when you try to ban something, this very often leads to the opposite result.”
