The Russian Finance Ministry estimates crypto assets held by Russians at $44 billion. The figure, which is based on expert estimates, is significantly higher than the data published by the Central Bank.
In brief
- Some 20 million Russians hold cryptos, worth around 3.7 trillion rubles, or $44 billion.
- Trade would represent up to 50 billion rubles per day.
- The Central Bank estimated the balances held on the platforms at 720 billion rubles in the first quarter of 2026.
A figure of 44 billion still difficult to verify
Russian estimates of the size of the crypto market vary widely. The Central Bank recently estimated citizens’ assets on exchange platforms at around 720 billion rubles. The Ministry of Finance advances an amount of 3,700 billion.
Ivan Chebeskov, Deputy Minister of Finance, communicated these figures in a interview given to TASS on September 21, on the occasion of the opening of the Moscow Financial Forum.
The manager speaks of “expert estimates”, without specifying the sources or the method used. According to him, the amount includes cryptocurrencies held directly as well as part of the financial products linked to cryptoassets.
Other data also shows the discrepancy between the estimates. Triple-A lists 8.7 million holders in Russia, while Sberbank previously cited a range of 7 to 20 million people.
50 billion rubles exchanged every day
The ministry also puts forward a daily volume of around 50 billion rubles, or nearly $595 million. Over a year, this would represent around 10,000 billion rubles in transactions.
Until now, much of this activity has escaped Russia’s financial infrastructure. However, the situation is starting to change.
Since September 1, new regulations govern operations related to cryptos. Trading, custody and accounting activities must gradually pass through approved actors, including exchanges, brokers, management companies and digital custodians.
Holders will also need to report certain foreign wallets to tax authorities. International transfers will also have to go through regulated intermediaries.
Vladimir Chistyukhin, first vice president of the Central Bank, aims to create a legal crypto industry by the end of the year. In particular, the Moscow Stock Exchange plans to launch crypto listings in December.
Moscow’s position, however, remains clear: cryptos cannot be used for domestic payments and their use is limited to certain international payments.
Foreign assets at the heart of the strategy
Another issue could quickly gain importance: stablecoins. These digital assets, generally backed by the dollar, are already used for cross-border transactions.
The Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance are working on their supervision. In June, the Central Bank published a consultation paper acknowledging that no specific definition of stablecoin yet exists in Russian law.
However, the repatriation of assets held abroad remains the main challenge. Rosfinmonitoring had estimated the average assets of Russians present on unregulated international platforms at 933 billion rubles per month.
It now remains to be seen whether holders will actually transfer their assets to approved infrastructures in Russia. The Central Bank has already set a limit: brokers’ crypto exposure cannot exceed 25% of their own funds.
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