A recent new survey conducted in Russia shows that nearly half of its retail investors believe that cryptocurrencies are a good hedging asset since they provide stable income.
Investing.com, a financial publication, had polled 1000 Russians in the above survey to ascertain alternative investments that Russians prefer.
Russia – Investment Trends
The survey revealed that 46% Russian believed that during times of economic crisis crypto provided a defensive hedge against financial risk. Retail investors in Russian preferred crypto over real estate. Only 37% of the retail investors surveyed, considered real estate a good investment option.
Traditionally real estate has been Russia’s preferred asset for hedging. In 2021 crypto has emerged as the preferred hedging asset displacing foreign currency and even stocks.
Bitcoin emerged as the most popular cryptocurrency in Russia in a study by Brand Analytics – a big data platform. Bitcoin overtook other coins such as Tether and Litecoin – when assessed based on mentions on social media.
The growing popularity of crypto among Russians can be gauged from the fact that 77% investors in Russia preferred Bitcoin to gold, according to a report in a recent survey.
In the $2.8 trillion crypto market, Russia has a significant role, noted the Bank of Russia. The Bank of Russia noted that Russia ranked third globally, based on national BTC hash rate. Russia is also one of the major users of the crypto exchange Binance.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the accompanying inflation prompted investors, globally, to look at cryptocurrencies as a potential hedge against financial risk.
Investment bank, Goldman Sachs also revealed that investors have been increasingly using crypto as a hedge against financial risk over the usual assets such as gold. Government bonds are no longer seen as a hedge against risk having been displaced by cryptocurrencies feels Pendal group’s head of alternative investments.
