Russia's Central Bank Rejects Crypto Investments Citing Volatility

The Bank of Russia has made it clear that it is not considering investments in cryptocurrencies, despite the growing trend among monetary authorities worldwide to include Bitcoin in their reserves. The central bank's governor, Elvira Nabiullina, emphasized that the institution remains opposed to using decentralized digital money for payments within the country, although it is open to the idea of using crypto in foreign trade.

The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has expressed caution regarding cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), allowing only qualified investors and participants in cross-border exchange access to these digital coins, which are not yet properly regulated in the Russian Federation. Regarding the acquisition of crypto for its own reserves, the authority is not currently reviewing such a possibility, according to a statement by its Chair, Elvira Nabiullina. Speaking at a briefing during the International Financial Congress in St. Petersburg, she stressed, “Considering our attitude towards them as risky and volatile assets, we certainly do not consider that we as the central bank may invest in that.”

Nabiullina also remarked that the CBR is still opposed to using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment in Russia, where the ruble is the only legal tender by law. She insisted, “We continue to be against using cryptocurrencies in payments inside the country. That is, ‘yes’ for foreign economic activity, ‘yes’ for particularly qualified investors as a target for investments. Nevertheless, we are against their use as a means of payment.”

The Bank of Russia’s stance on keeping crypto in government coffers is supported by the country’s finance ministry. In March, Deputy Minister of Finance Vladimir Kolychev stated that the department did not intend to add volatile digital assets to the investment portfolio of the National Welfare Fund. The Minfin official emphasized that the fund’s holdings must be liquid and not subject to sudden changes in value. At the same time, he hinted that investing in less liquid and more profitable assets may become an option once the fund’s assets reach 7 to 10% of GDP.

Nabiullina’s latest statements on the matter come after the acting head of the CBR’s Financial Technologies Department, Stanislav Korop, previously noted that the central bank had not seriously discussed the creation of a national cryptocurrency reserve. The issue is not on the agenda, Korop said at the Digital Industry of Industrial Russia conference in early June. He emphasized that crypto assets come with significant risks of depreciation and stated, “Our attitude to cryptocurrencies, especially their high volatility, is well known.”

The Russian central bank executive highlighted the United States’ example in that regard, commenting that the fact that its crypto reserve has been formed from confiscated assets significantly changes the perception of this instrument. “This is already a little different from a reserve that implies market attractiveness and fuels interest from the audience,” Stanislav Korop elaborated.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s signing of an executive order to set up a strategic Bitcoin reserve this past March sparked a growing debate around the world on whether digital coins should be used as reserve assets. A number of nations are already making similar decisions, including some of the Russian Federation’s own neighbors in the post-Soviet space. Last month, a group of lawmakers in Kyiv filed a bill suggesting Ukraine should add cryptocurrencies to its foreign exchange reserves. Later in June, the National Bank of Kazakhstan supported a draft law submitted to the parliament in Astana featuring a proposal to create a state-run crypto reserve.