A government official in Moscow has advised Russians to avoid cryptocurrencies now when interest in foreign fiat currencies is declining in the country. The high-risk assets are not suitable for the savings of most people and make sense only for investments by rich people, his comments suggest.
Finance Ministry Don’t Want to See Russians Saving in Cryptocurrency
Restrictions imposed by the Russian state on foreign currency accounts and operations amid Western sanctions have led to a decrease in the volume of savings kept in foreign fiats. Against this backdrop, Russians have been warned they shouldn’t switch to cryptocurrencies.
“We would definitely not want citizens’ savings to be directed to digital currencies,” the head of the Financial Policy Department of the Russian Ministry of Finance, Ivan Chebeskov, stated during the blockchain conference “Finance of the Future: Challenges and Opportunities.”
Cryptocurrencies are a high-risk instrument, he pointed out quoted by RBC Crypto, and even stablecoins pegged to traditional currencies are not very suitable for savings purposes as they do not accrue interest, the government official elaborated.
Chebeskov is convinced that regulated digital financial assets (DFAs) could be a better alternative. These are typically tokens issued on a blockchain platform operated by a licensed entity under Russian law. The Bank of Russia expects its market to grow significantly.
The finance ministry representative added that assets such as cryptocurrencies make sense only for wealthier Russians, not for people with average income and savings, and then only for 10 to 15% of the capital available for investment.
Around 13 million people in Russia, approximately 9% of the population, now hold cryptocurrencies, according to Anatoly Popov, deputy chairman of the Board of Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank. Popov, who also spoke at the conference, highlighted that at least 1 million of them are active users.
Do you think the number of Russians saving in crypto will increase despite the government’s warning? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.
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