Cryptocurrencies Remain Unfamiliar Concept to 56% of Russians

More than half of Russians (56%) have no idea what cryptocurrencies are, and an overwhelming majority of citizens are skeptical about digital assets, with only 2% actually owning virtual coins.

Although cryptocurrency and blockchain are among the most widely discussed concepts in traditional and social media, just 44% of Russians are aware of virtual money, and 31% have only a vague idea of what it is, according to asurveyby Romir Research Holding.

"The survey clearly illustrates that cryptocurrencies have not become a meaningful financial instrument yet. Moreover, the cultural memory of the Russian society still reflects the painful experience of losses caused by previous rags-to-riches schemes, which results in healthy skepticism," Romir president Andrey Milekhin commented.

Those concerns are not entirely ungrounded as the number offinancial scamsdisguised as cryptocurrency investment schemes has been on the rise since the beginning of 2018.

To make the results more credible and representative, Romir surveyed respondents of various ages with different income level and from different federal districts. As it turned out, 56% of them knew nothing about cryptocurrencies.

Among those familiar with cryptocurrencies, 2% reported they owned digital coins, and only 11% said they had interest in acquiring such assets. Despite the enormous variety of cryptocurrencies, potential Russian investors are interested mostly in Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Three quarters (76%) of those who purchased digital coins did so to generate additional income, with half of them stating they had hit their financial targets. The results also showed that 24% of Russian crypto holders bought coins to keep up with the trend, while 16% planned to spend it on goods and services.

Despite these findings, Russians are not the only nation with low crypto awareness and appetite for investment. According toresearchby Finder, only 8% of Americans own cryptocurrencies.