russians they are now spending more per household on crypto than on gold and other precious metals, a Central Bank Report has discovered.
The bank's findings were compiled in a report called the "National Household Survey of Consumer Finance" (literal translation).
The report collected a variety of data from 2022 and compared it with figures from a similar study in 2020.
The bank said it spoke to some 12,000 people from 6,000 households in 38 regions of the country.
The data showed that the average Russian household had about $220 worth of cryptocurrency.
By contrast, households had just over $40 worth of gold and other precious metals, as well as savings of just under $190.
The bank added that its survey was conducted between April and August 2022.
But the figures may have been skewed by some people who have invested heavily in crypto.
Less than 1% of those surveyed said they had cryptocurrency, compared to around 65% who said they had money saved in the bank.
But this figure appears to be at odds with previous government estimates of cryptocurrency ownership.
Some lawmakers think that 12% of Russians own crypto, with some data compiled by private sector bodies supporting these claims.
The Central Bank has repeatedly expressed its disapproval of what it calls "private cryptocurrencies," such as Bitcoin (BTC).
And while it has expressed some support for the idea of โโallowing Russian merchants to sell their wares for cryptocurrency to evade sanctions, the bank appears to want to put an end to this.
Central Bank of Russia: an obstacle to the adoption of cryptocurrencies?
Last week, the media Major reported that the bank is still opposed to the creation of a state-owned cryptocurrency exchange that exporters and cryptocurrency miners could use to sell their coins.
the idea was first introduced by senior lawmakers late last year.
Anton Tkachev, a member of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications, was quoted as saying:
"The case [of launching a national crypto exchange] it is being discussed in a number of quarters, including the State Duma. But it is useless to talk about this before the Central Bank [gets on board with the idea].โ
The parliamentarian indicated that any national exchange must be created in conjunction with the bank.
Tkachev suggested that private sector companies could possibly play a role, but insisted that the majority of shares in the stock market should "belong to the state."
