With sanctions from Western nations increasing the pressure on the Russian economy, it appears that young people in the country think cryptocurrency can turn out to be a profitable and reliable investment option. Results of a recent study show that there are two-thirds of the Russian population that have now become familiar with bitcoin and its ilk. The decision of Moscow to invade Ukraine has promised Western countries to impose financial as well as other penalties and this has taken its toll on the Russian economy as a whole. Even though the perspectives are bleak, it appears that just as it has been before, gold and property continue to be the most desired investments for Russians.
In the last few years, there has been a decline in the number of people who consider purchasing real estate to be the most reliable investment. However, a report from NAFI, the Russian analytical center showed that this number is still at 33% in this year. Moreover, 36% of the people who responded to its study have said that they consider real estate to be the most profitable option. Similarly, gold has also gotten a lot of recognition and investment in this precious metal is considered reliable by almost 25% of the Russians, as opposed to the 21% two years prior. There has been an increase in the percentage of investors in the same time period who believe that there will be future profits in gold, as it has gone from 18% to 26%.
The number of Russians who accumulate and keep paper cash has also gone up, as there are 23% of them who find this particular method of storing value a reliable one. This is an increase from 2020, when the percentage was 15%. About 21% of the participants of the survey said that they consider it safe to open a deposit account in a state-owned bank. There has been significant growth in the popularity of crypto in Russia in the past years.
NAFI researchers stated that two-thirds of the people who had responded to their survey, which is around 67%, were familiar with bitcoin. This percentage had been 16% about five years ago. Most of the Russians believe that the value of crypto will go up in the future. There are 8% of them who believe that investment in crypto assets is reliable, while 11% of them believe digital coins can turn out to be quite profitable.
The optimism is significantly higher in people who are between the ages of 18-24. About 23% of these people have said that crypto investments are reliable and 24% say that they are profitable. With Russian access to the global financial system being limited by governments in support of Ukraine, there have been concerns that Moscow could take advantage of cryptocurrencies for evading sanctions. Some crypto platforms have taken action against Russian accounts, but many have refused to freeze accounts of all Russian crypto users. Meanwhile, authorities in Russia are moving forward with legalizing crypto in the country.
