Bank of Russia: Citizens still hold $6.8b in crypto on exchanges

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As a seasoned crypto investor with roots in Russia, I find the recent report by the Bank of Russia both intriguing and reassuring. Despite the 16% decline in Russian holdings on centralized exchanges, it’s heartening to see that Bitcoin still dominates with 69%, followed closely by Ethereum. The rise of meme coins seems to be attracting new users, though I can’t help but chuckle at the notion that they aren’t seen as major drivers for substantial investments – perhaps the Dogecoin-to-Dollar ratio still needs some tweaking!

Despite the volatility in the cryptocurrency market, it’s been disclosed by the Bank of Russia that Russian holdings of cryptocurrencies on centralized platforms remain valued in billions.

Despite a significant decrease of around 16%, or about $2.3 billion, from March’s levels, the value of Russian holdings in cryptocurrencies on centralized exchanges remains substantial, according to the Bank of Russia’s most recent report.

As a crypto investor, I’ve noticed a decrease of 15.8% in the Russian crypto holdings on centralized exchanges since March, according to data from the central bank. However, despite this dip, Bitcoin (BTC) continues to be the leading asset, accounting for approximately 69% of our total investments, with Ethereum (ETH) coming in second at around 21%, and stablecoins making up about 10%.

According to the central bank, a decrease in exchange balances is happening at the same time as less market activity. They note that there has been a significant drop in trading volumes during the past few months.

Regardless of how it’s approached, Russian investors continue to be a significant force within the wider cryptocurrency market. As per the central bank’s reports, there has been a substantial increase in web traffic to crypto exchanges in Russia, up by 56.5%. This surge has led Russian users to account for 7.5% of global visits. Furthermore, the inflow of crypto assets linked to Russian investors experienced a rise of 18%, amounting to approximately $50 billion (4.8 trillion rubles) in Q3.

Meme coins attract new users

In addition to other topics, the central bank highlighted meme coins in their report, stating that while these digital assets have garnered popularity, they are generally considered less influential in driving significant investment trends.

Though meme coins and small applications draw fresh participants into the cryptocurrency market, it’s worth noting that, considering their market cap compared to the overall crypto market, they are not typically used as major conduits for large-scale investment by citizens.

The Bank of Russia

Following MegaFon’s announcement, one of Russia’s leading telecom firms, there has been a notable 8% rise in web traffic towards cryptocurrency exchanges. This surge can be attributed to the escalating Bitcoin prices and adjustments in local regulations. Remarkably, this trend echoes on a global scale, with web activity to top-tier crypto exchanges increasing by 8% to 10% from October to November, as detailed by the company.

Based on MegaFon’s information, we can see that visits to Deribit surged by 126% at the beginning of November. Similarly, HTX (previously known as Huobi) and KuCoin both reported a rise in traffic of 24% and 23%, respectively. On the other hand, Gate.io, Upbit, and Kraken witnessed a drop in web traffic during this timeframe, according to the data provided.

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2024-11-29 16:25