73% of Russians will increase investments in cryptocurrencies, according to a survey

A recent survey shows that 49% of Russians want to receive cryptocurrencies as a gift, with a large percentage specified by Bitcoin. As cryptocurrencies grow in popularity, another survey reveals that 73% of Russian investors expect to increase their cryptocurrency holdings next year.

The Russian technology portal Hi-Tech Mail conducted its traditional pre-New Year survey on what gifts the Russians want to receive. With more than 20,000 respondents participating, the company found:

When answering the question about the desire to receive a cryptocurrency as a gift, the opinions of the respondents were divided equally: 29% said they would be happy with such a prospect, another 20% specified that Bitcoin must necessarily be".

Meanwhile, 51% of respondents said they prefer to receive something else, such as smartphones and other devices.

Interest in cryptocurrencies has been growing in Russia. A global survey of 700 encryption investors conducted in November by Waves Platform indicates that, worldwide, 27% of investors believe that Japan will become the world leader in cryptocurrencies next year.

According to Gleb Kostarev of Waves, 15% believe that Russia will take the lead and the same percentage believes that South Korea will do so. 14% believe that the United States will be the leader in this field.

Among Russian respondents, 39% believe that Japan will take the initiative. 32% believe that Russia will do it and 12% believe that it will be the United States.

In addition, almost 89% of all Russian respondents purchase cryptocurrencies as long-term investments, Financial One reported. Only 24% invests for short-term profits while 22% invests in interest.

Citing that 59% of the national cryptographic investors consider that the risk of losing funds is moderate, and 25% consider it high. The CEO and founder of Waves, Alexander Ivanov, was quoted by the publication:

"Despite the fears of many experts about the formation of a bubble in the cryptocurrency market, the Russians do not intend to reduce their investments in this type of assets. 73% of the respondents indicated that in the next year they will increase their investments in cryptocurrencies ".

Meanwhile, the central bank and the Ministry of Finance presented the bill to regulate cryptocurrencies and initial offers of currencies (ICOs) in Russia on Thursday. The bank refuses to recognize Bitcoin as a means of payment and the Ministry of Finance proposed to consider it as "another property". The bill is expected to be adopted in March.