Nearly eight out of ten Russians consider Bitcoin (BTC) to be the “most trusted” crypto-asset in circulation. And almost a third said they had used cryptocurrencies “at least once”.
These are the results of a survey conducted by Russian crypto exchange Bitbanker and market researcher Cupli Surveys, reported by Kommersant and VC. The parties spoke to 1,500 people over the age of 18 “from all regions of Russia”.
While 78% said BTC was a trustworthy token, 36% said they also trust Tether (USDT). And 35% said they also thought Ethereum (ETH) was reliable.
While 29% of respondents said they had “used cryptocurrencies at least once,” most (51%) of this group said their main reason for buying cryptocurrencies was to protect their savings. Most of the remaining respondents indicated that they hoped to make money from crypto trading.
But nearly a third of those with crypto experience said they have used tokens as a transfer tool to “send money to other people.”
Surprisingly, 26% of respondents said they had used cryptocurrencies to “pay for goods and services” – despite the fact that using cryptocurrencies as a form of payment is banned in Russia.
Are Bitcoin-loving Russians getting more crypto savvy?
There are indications that among Russians using cryptocurrencies there seem to be many advanced users. “Most respondents indicated that they used multiple wallets,” the researchers said. And 14% of the group said they keep their coins in cold storage instead of exchanging wallets.
While the vast majority said their crypto holdings were relatively small, almost 10% said they held between $7,000 and $14,000 worth of coins. And 2.3% said their crypto holdings were worth more than $14,000.
Earlier this month, a Russian government minister said domestic crypto miners are now being watched by electricity providers – and forced to pay industrial tariffs for energy. A bill legalizing the industrial mining sector could be passed later this year.