Report ranks crypto next to gold in popularity with Russian investors

Cryptocurrency investment is one of the most popular investment tools in Russia, according to a new report.

The World Gold Council, a major market development organization for the gold industry, released a report on retail gold insights in Russia on Tuesday.

According to the report, cryptocurrency is currently the fifth-most popular investment tool in Russia after savings accounts, foreign currencies, real estate and life insurance. As part of the World Gold Council's rankings of Russian investments made in the past 12 months, cryptocurrency is followed by gold, accounting for 17% and 16%, respectively.

The report is based on a survey of 2,023 online interviews with investors from cities across Russia. The respondents are “active investors” — those who made at least one investment in the 12 months preceding the survey.

According to the report, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) remain popular in Russia and benefit from being an accessible investment tool. In the meantime, gold has not yet established itself as a mainstream investment asset due to a lack of education and trust.

The World Gold Council also noted that the crypto investment trend in Russia comes despite digital assets being a relatively risky investment, while gold has historically emerged as a stable investment for the long term. This could be a sign of growing demand for new investment products, the World Gold Council suggested, stating:

"The rise of cryptocurrencies demonstrates that there is a desire for choice and appeal among retail investors. As the Russian investment market takes shape, opportunities for different investment products will emerge and gold will need to respond.”

Russia has emerged as one of the major jurisdictions investing in crypto. According to a September report by Chainalysis, Russia is now the world’s second-largest country after Ukraine in terms of the rate of crypto adoption.