In Russia, the volume of operations with cryptocurrencies increased by more than 50%

The Bank of Russia said that for the fourth quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, the volume of operations of citizens with digital assets increased by 51.1% compared to previous two quarters.

According to the regulator, at the end of March, the remains of funds on the wallets of Russians on cryptocurrency platforms amounted to 827 billion rubles. Of these, 62.1% are on bitcoin, 22% – on air and 15.9% – on USDT and USDC stabilcoins.

At the same time, the traffic volume of Russians on the resources of crypto platforms decreased to 165.4 million visits in six months, which is 0.9% lower compared to the two previous quarters.

The regulator noted that the support of the crypto market by the White House administration can cause increased interest of investment funds in digital assets, in particular, to stablecoin.

The development and introduction of transparent and clear rules for stable cryptocurrencies can increase safety and trust in them, which, in turn, will contribute to their wider distribution in the global financial system, analysts of the Central Bank say.

At the same time, strengthening control over these digital assets can lead to new sanction risks for Russian market participants, including possible cases of freezing or blocking assets by issuers in the framework of compliance with international sanctions norms.

In addition, the Bank of Russia recalled the package of its own initiatives, which are currently under consideration by the government. Among them is the proposal to admit qualified investors to operations with cryptoderivatives and the possibility of the participation of “especially qualified investors” in the operations of the sale of cryptocurrencies as part of the experimental legal regime (EPR).

Earlier, analysts of the Bank of Russia said that the return on Bitcoin investments amounted to about 38%last year. This is more profitability of traditional financial instruments, such as promotions, bonds and precious metals.

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