Russian Households Choose Crypto Holdings Over Funds & Gold: CBR

The Russian Central Banks now adds household crypto holdings in their survey, revealing further exciting details. Study indicates that families in Russia keep a major part of their income in crypto wallets compared to mutual funds and gold investment accounts.

CBR Gauges Russian Households Holding Crypto

The estimates published by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR), summarizing the digital assets held by Russian citizens, is the latest report on household finances. This survey was conducted every two years from 2013, while the 2022 results were released on March 31.

The document released by the Russian monetary authority, CBR, studies the fiat value of crypto holdings in Russian households owning assets worth 17,500 rubles or around $225. Suggesting that more than half of the families or people living in a group with a similar budget have slightly higher crypto assets than the cited threshold.

What Does the Survey Say?

The extensive survey involved over 6,000 households and around 12,000 citizens in 32 Russian regions. The report notes that around 70% of these were studied between May and June 2022. In 2021, as per CBR, Russia made around $5 billion worth of crypto transactions.

The researchers concluded that more than 65% of the studied households had financial assets, with an average amount of around 15,700 rubles or $200. 64.5% of the researchers kept money in bank accounts, with an average median of 15,000 rubles.

However, the survey also points out that only 0.4% of the families made crypto investments. Although this is a very small portion, the number is still larger than households keeping money in mutual funds or precious commodities, which is surprisingly 0.3% for each.

CBR study shows that about 1.6% of households had had storages in stocks and bonds; these had a median value of about 26,500 rubles or $340 approx. Another group of 1.2% accepted having electronic wallets with an average value of 1,000 rubles or about $12.80.

Russia and Cryptocurrency

Russian President, Vladimir Putin, signed the regulation on Digital Finance Assets (DFA) transactions in July 2020. This legalized the crypto transactions simultaneously, prohibiting them from being legal tender. If they register with CBR, Russian banks and exchanges could opt to be DFA operators.

From January 1, 2021, cryptocurrency owners and organizations with transactions of more than 600,000 or $7,575 in a calendar year must report their wallet balances and crypto transactions to Russian tax authorities.

Failure to report twice in three years, or if false pieces of information are provided on purpose, is considered a criminal offence.

For instance, if a taxpayer fails to report crypto transactions worth 45 million rubles or $615,000 or more in two of the last three years, a punishment of 500,000 to 2 million rubles can be expected. Also, they could be subjected to forced labor for five years or a jail term between 18 months and 5 years.

This does not mean 45 million rubles is the limit; failing to report invites monetary penalties, short jail terms and forced labor.