Only 9% of Russians want to buy Bitcoin – Survey

Maria Nikolova

The survey shows very low knowledge about the status of cryptocurrencies even among those claiming to be familiar with Bitcoin and its likes.

Only 9% of the Russians claiming to have some knowledge about Bitcoin are willing to buy it, according to the latest survey conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center.

The level of knowledge about cryptocurrencies in Russia is rather low, as even those that claim to be familiar with Bitcoin often fail to state with certainty whether the Bitcoin can be legally bought in Russia. In fact, 16% of those claiming to have knowledge about cryptocurrencies say that Bitcoin is prohibited in Russia. Let’s note that the Central Bank of Russia has indeed issued a number of warnings about the risks associated with trading cryptocurrencies and has stressed that they are not legal payment means in Russia. No official ban has been imposed, however.

Overall, Bitcoin has not won popularity among the Russians. About two thirds (67%) of the people surveyed said that investment in Bitcoin was not a profitable investment. Only 9% said they might buy Bitcoins in the future. The most common reason for staying away from Bitcoin is the low level of information about it.

The leading expert-consultant of the research center Oleg Chernozub commented that investors have a rule: “If the price of a certain asset is discussed in TV shows for housewives, the price will collapse”. According to him, Bitcoin is now approaching this status.

Earlier this week, Russia’s prime minister Dmitry Medvedev forecast the disappearance of the cryptocurrencies, calling them a “dead-end segment of the cyber revolution”. However, he noted that the technology at the basis of the cryptocurrencies is not necessarily doomed.

In its most recent “Review of Financial Stability” published in November 2017, the Central Bank of Russia enlisted a number of risks for the financial stability, with the list including the cryptocurrency market.

According to the “Megaregulator”, one of the sources of risks in the future may be the high activity in the cryptocurrency market, including Bitcoin. The use of cryptocurrencies is getting more and more popular, the central bank noted. The phenomenon is particularly evident in the case of Bitcoin, whose price is steeply rising whereas the volatility remains high and the volume of trades involving Bitcoin is increasing.

The formation of a bubble in the cryptocurrency market may lead to significant losses for consumers. In addition, cryptocurrencies may be used for laundering money and financing terrorism, the central bank warned.

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