Bitcoin Snubbed: Russia Prefers Gold and Yuan, Much to the Chagrin of Crypto Enthusiasts 🤑

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On March 5, 2025, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Vladimir Kolychev, with all the charm of a man who’s just been handed a cold borscht, announced that Russia has no intention of adding Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency to the National Wealth Fund (NWF).

While Russia has been somewhat tolerant of cryptocurrencies in international trade, it seems the nation is not quite ready to put its eggs in the digital basket. After all, who in their right mind would trust a currency that can fluctuate more than a Moscow taxi meter? 🚕

NWF Holdings: Primarily Yuan and Gold, No Digital Assets

According to Interfax, Kolychev, with the solemnity of a man announcing the end of the world, confirmed that the Finance Ministry has no plans to alter the current investment structure of the NWF. Digital assets, he declared, are as welcome as a bear in a ballet. 🐻🎭

“No. Only gold and yuan,” he stated, as if he were reading from the Book of Financial Prudence.

Interfax further reported that the fund may hold up to 60% in yuan and a maximum of 40% in gold. When asked about the possibility of Russia establishing a strategic cryptocurrency reserve—a notion that seems to have originated in the fertile minds of the Trump administration—Kolychev was as blunt as a Russian winter.

“From a sovereign budget reserve perspective, it is crucial that the fund’s assets are highly liquid and can be quickly sold without significant loss in value. We do not want to be in a situation where we have to sell an asset at half the price we invested in. Digital assets are highly volatile, so we have never considered them for the NWF and have no plans to do so in the future,” Kolychev explained, as if he were lecturing a class of particularly dim economics students.

Kolychev also noted that the NWF might consider investing in less liquid and more volatile assets once it reaches 7–10% of GDP. However, he added that the fund is still far from that level. As of February 1, the National Wealth Fund’s volume reached 11.97 trillion rubles ($122.09 billion), equivalent to 5.6% of the projected GDP for 2025, according to a report from the Russian Finance Ministry.

Meanwhile, Russia has taken legal steps to regulate cryptocurrency. In late November 2024, the Russian parliament passed a law recognizing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as assets. The law imposes a personal income tax of 13–15% on crypto transactions and is awaiting President Vladimir Putin’s signature to take effect.

According to a December 2024 report by the Bank of Russia, Bitcoin accounted for 69% of Russians’ total cryptocurrency holdings on exchanges in September 2024. So, while the average Russian might be dabbling in digital currencies, the government is holding firm to its preference for the more traditional, and less volatile, forms of wealth. 🪙

So far, Russia has adopted a pragmatic approach to Bitcoin, using it in international transactions to counter sanctions but refraining from incorporating it into national reserves. It seems the old adage holds true: when in doubt, stick to gold and the yuan. 🤑

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2025-03-06 12:31