Alternative investments like crypto make up half of Russian non-qualified investors’ portfolios –

Investments in alternative assets such as cryptocurrencies account for more than half of the portfolio of non-qualified Russian investors, a recent survey has shown. Almost half of them see digital currencies like Bitcoin as a potential hedge.

Cryptocurrencies outperform traditional currencies and stocks in Russia

Alternative investments such as crypto, real estate and antiques account for more than half of the portfolios of unqualified investors in the Russian Federation, according to a new survey by Investing.com. Digital currencies lead the way among these options, with 46% of 1,000 respondents seeing them as a hedging investment for the future.

Another 37% of those who bet on alternative investments see buying real estate as an effective investment, according to Russian daily Izvestia reported, citing the results of the study. Around 47% of participants viewed gold as a reliable instrument, especially in times of crisis, while 27% said they had never invested in the precious metal, preferring to invest their money in stocks and bonds.

Real estate has played the role of a hedge asset in the past, but cryptocurrency is a clear trend in 2021, Investing.com Russia's head Anastasia Kosheleva was quoted as saying. She also noted that digital financial assets are outperforming even traditional fiat currencies, stocks and other stock market instruments.

Russian investors are among the most active in the crypto market

Russians are among the most active participants in the digital currency market, the Bank of Russia told Izvestia. The regulator recently revealed that the annual volume of crypto transactions made by Russian residents has reached $5 billion. In its financial stability review for the second and third quarters of 2021, the monetary authority also highlighted the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies both for investors and for the country's financial stability.

It is currently unclear if or when the central bank intends to introduce restrictions on how much non-qualified investors can invest in crypto assets. At the beginning of October it became known that Russian lawmakers think about restrictions for private crypto investors. Around the same time last year, the Bank of Russia proposed an annual limit of 600,000 rubles (around $8,000) to seek public opinion on the threshold.

According to an estimate by Vladimir Ananyev, an analyst at investment company Exante, Russian investments in digital coins are somewhere between $300 billion and $500 billion. They have seen six-fold growth in the last year, he noted. Both the value of these investments and the number of market participants have increased significantly, Ananyev added.

The most popular digital asset among Russian investors is Bitcoin ( BTC ), but altcoins are attracting more and more attention, the expert emphasized. The trend was confirmed by the decline in the dominance of the cryptocurrency with the largest market capitalization to 42%.

According to the publication, discussions are currently underway in Russia about proposals to legally define the status of qualified investors in the crypto market. However, the domestic requirements for this category do not apply to retail investors on foreign cryptocurrency platforms, Ananyev noted, as the majority are not regulated in the Russian Federation.

Do you think Russia will impose restrictions on unqualified crypto investors? Share your expectations in the comments section below.

Photo credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons