Bitcoin is becoming increasingly popular in Russia, according to a survey. The Russian Association of Currency Brokers (AFD), a local self-regulatory organization focused on the foreign exchange market, surveyed Russian investors to assess their perceptions of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. The AFD found that the vast majority of respondents said they preferred bitcoin over gold and forex.
Almost 77% of respondents said that bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are the “most forward-looking” investments on their radar. This is in contrast to gold, which was chosen as the best investment by only 8.8% of those surveyed. With slightly higher preference rates, there are “known national currencies”, which made up around 14% of the survey participants.
When it comes to forgetting Bitcoin, only 23% of investors surveyed said they had never used it. However, 77% of them said that they still plan to invest in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency soon. The study found that only 7.6% of those who had never used Bitcoin were strongly opposed to exposure to the asset class. The doubts about whether it is worth investing in Bitcoin amounted to 15% of the respondents.
Evgeny Masharov, AfD boss, said the survey clearly showed that Russian investors no longer perceive Bitcoin as a “hype product” but as a real investment. The AFD will send the poll results to the Bank of Russia and the State Duma Financial Markets Committee. Last year, a survey conducted by the World Gold Council also shed light on Russian Bitcoin adoption and found Bitcoin ranked fifth in the popularity of investment vehicles. The increasing acceptance and popularity of Bitcoin by the Russian people is in contrast to the attitude of their government, which follows a European trend of totalitarian views.
