The use of cryptocurrency in Russia continues to rise despite the country’s harsh policies surrounding it. While great representatives of international politics and banking call Bitcoin (available on Coinbase) fraudulent or even “the largest bubble in history,” a study by the Fatcats Market pollster showed that 99% of Russians do not share this view and on the contrary – crypto is popular in Russia. Despite the efforts of the government to promote a negative image, only 1% of the Russian population endorses that opinion. This is just another example of the level of trust and adoption that cryptos are gaining at a worldwide scale.

Another highlight of the study is that the use of cryptocurrencies represents the most significant source of income for 12% of the total population. This is a remarkable improvement over the data obtained at the beginning of the year which showed a relative mistrust shared by stakeholders.

Under the mETHodology applied, the study has a confidence margin of 5% “if the total population is considered to be people who are interested in crypto-currencies (calculated on the basis of the frequency of the Russian-language queries in Google, Yandex).” The survey was launched on March 22, 2018, and the report was compiled on April 2, 2018. The survey was officially placed on 16 Telegram channels, which seems pretty logical given the Russian-oriented focus of the study

These types of studies are widespread in Russia, and their continuous implementation allows us to keep track of how Russian society evolves. Another important aspect is the contrast between the positions held by the different age groups and the gender division: 10% are underage, more than 40% are millennials, and almost 2% are people over 50 years of age and 90% of crypto users are male.

Cryptos are on their way to being accepted as money substitutes.

Another focus area was the purpose of the crypto. Despite the Russian government’s efforts to ban the use of Bitcoin (available on Coinbase)s within the country as a measure to protect the national currency, Russians seem motivated to purchase goods and services under this new modality:

For Russians, the most popular choice when buying products is the computers, smartphones, and other gadgets sector, with 77% or preference. In second place with 66% is the purchase of airplane tickets and in third place with 65% are the audio and video equipment.

As for services, payment to freelancers is in first place with 60%, legal and financial consulting services are in second place.

Whilst Russians have barely been able to pay for goods and services with cryptocurrencies an overwhelming 92% have stated that they would like to have the opportunity to buy products without having to switch their cryptos to FIAT.

Russians seem to follow the world trend: Bitcoin (available on Coinbase), ETHer, and Ripple (available on Binance) are the three most important currencies in their wallets. The year of the most significant boom in Crypto adoption was 2017.

Russians are very much hodlers: 40% of respondents do not plan to withdraw crypto-currencies and regard them as a long-term investment.

Mining is becoming less and less attractive to the Russians. Trading has displaced this activity: 40% of respondents actively invest in crypto-currencies. At the same time,63% are not into mining.

At least 40% of Russians invest in ICOs.

The most significant risk associated with the use of cryptos is the volatility of prices, the second place being that it is difficult to develop the financial infrastructure required for mass adoption and the third place being a confessed ignorance of the way cryptos work. However, despite these concerns, the study proves that crypto is popular in Russia.

Interesting data not only for the development of startups but also for those who want to know the behavior of a market that has a significant influence on the whole of Eurasia. Big data companies can take advantage of this information and adjust their strategies to enter a market that is still quite closed despite its importance.

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