A recent survey showed that investment in alternative assets such as cryptocurrencies accounted for more than half of the portfolio of unqualified Russian investors. Almost half of people view digital currencies such as Bitcoin as potential hedging tools.

Cryptocurrency outperforms traditional Russian currencies and stocks

According to a new survey conducted by Investing.com, alternative investments such as cryptocurrency, real estate and antiques account for more than half of the portfolio of non-qualified investors in the Russian Federation. Digital currencies are in a leading position among these choices, with 46% of 1,000 respondents viewing them as future hedging investments.

Russian daily newspaper Izvestia stated that another 37% of people who bet on alternative assets believe that real estate is an effective investment Report, Citing research results. About 47% of participants believe that gold is a reliable tool, especially in times of crisis, while 27% of respondents admitted that they have never invested in precious metals because they are more willing to invest in stocks and bonds.

Real estate has always played the role of hedging assets, but the head of Investing.com Russia’s Anastasia Kosheleva pointed out that cryptocurrency is a clear trend in 2021. She also pointed out that the performance of digital financial assets is even better than traditional fiat currencies, stocks and other stock market instruments.

Russian investors are among the best in the cryptocurrency market

The Bank of Russia told Izvestia that Russians are one of the most active participants in the digital currency market.Regulators recently disclose The annual cryptocurrency transaction volume of Russian residents has reached 5 billion U.S. dollars. In its financial stability overview for the second and third quarters of 2021, the monetary authority also highlighted the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies to investors and the country’s financial stability.

At present, it is unclear whether or when the central bank intends to limit the number of unqualified investors that can invest in crypto assets. In early October, there was news that Russian legislators were Consider restrictions For private cryptocurrency investors. At about the same time last year, the Bank of Russia proposed an annual limit of 600,000 rubles (approximately US$8,000) to solicit public opinion on this threshold.

According to estimates provided by investment company Exante analyst Vladimir Ananyev, Russia’s investment in digital currencies is between 30 and 500 billion U.S. dollars. He said that in the past year, they have increased sixfold. Ananyev added that the value of these investments and the number of market participants have increased significantly.

The most popular digital asset for Russian investors is Bitcoin (Bitcoin), but experts emphasize that altcoins are attracting more and more attention. The dominance of the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization fell to 42%, confirming this trend.

According to the publication, Russia is currently discussing a proposal to legally define the status of a qualified investor in the crypto market. However, this category of domestic requirements does not apply to retail investors on foreign cryptocurrency platforms, Ananyev pointed out, because most are not regulated by the Russian Federation.

Do you think Russia will impose restrictions on unqualified crypto investors? Share your expectations in the comments section below.

Image Source: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wikimedia Commons