Russian investors have purchased more than $16 million in Bitcoin futures in less than a month's trading, according to statistics released by the Russian Central Bank.
Financial authorities said individuals are the majority of purchases, reminding Russian citizens that crypto-derivatives pose similar risks to underlying assets.
CBR gauges Russia's new Bitcoin futures market
The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) publishes statistical data that reveals the size of the country's young market based on cryptocurrency prices. These numbers have been added to the latest version of “Financial Market Risk Overview.”
As of June 27, the total amount of open net positions for retail investors was around 1.25 billion rubles (over $16 million), and the document was released. “The proportion of individuals in the total amount of long positions is 97%,” the regulator emphasized.
The trading of futures related to the value of major cryptocurrency has begun on June 4th in Russia, where the Moscow exchange launched a deal on stocks in BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) in September.
It was possible in late May when CBR allowed financial institutions to provide crypto derivatives to qualified investors, allowing both financial companies and their clients to warn against direct investments in Russian digital assets.
This week we needed an opportunity to repeat those concerns. “It is noteworthy that these measures increase risk for investors,” the financial authorities said.
“Cryptocurrencies are volatile and dangerous. Therefore, there are also such properties in investments in products where pricing depends on them.”
The most common positions operating by the majority of investors (2,800) are below 500,000 rubles (less than $6,500).
At the same time, the central bank has noticed that private investors, whose portfolios control large capital, more than 100 million rubles, account for a significant portion of the investment capital. These are followed by other major players with capital in the range of 10 to 50 million rubles.
“However, it is worth noting that the number of investors in these cohorts is relatively small. The Bank of Russia commented, and also stated:
“The opposite short positions are occupied primarily by non-resident corporations.”
Coded derivatives that are still out of reach for ordinary Russians
Recent reports reveal that Russians own more than $25 billion in crypto assets, but domestic financial regulators, including central banks and the Ministry of Finance, are opposed to providing ordinary citizens with access to cryptocurrency or crypto derivatives.
In March this year, CBR proposed that a limited number of investors be able to acquire and trade digital currencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) within the framework of the “experimental legal system” (ELR). The bank said these should be “highly qualified investors.”
To fall into that category that is not yet legally defined, an individual must prove an annual income of more than 50 million rubles (over $600,000) and invest in securities or deposits exceeding 100 million rubles ($1.2 million).
Meanwhile, the results were in a new survey issued this week by Business Daily Vedomosti that showed that 52% of qualified Russian investors already have codes in their wallets.
Also, another 38% who haven't bought yet intend to do so in the future, bringing the total to 90% of respondents who are interested in crypto investment.
However, the Russian Central Bank remains stubborn in its stance on Bitcoin. Governor Elvira Naviurina recently argued that monetary policy regulators have no current plans to add cryptocurrency to their reserves.
The CBR also denys the possibility of allowing the use of digital coins, such as BTC, for payments within its territory, outside of the ELR. The special system allows Russian companies to adopt BTC and other coins in international settlements with trading partners amidst the financial restrictions imposed on war-related sanctions in Moscow.
