Almost half (48.4%) of Russian cryptocurrency market participants do not verify the origins of their assets and counterparties, according to a study titled "Cryptocurrency Market in Russia 2026".

The survey, conducted by A7A5, included 1,000 respondents from Russia and Russian-speaking expatriates.

Asset Origin Verification

The audience is nearly evenly split: 51.6% check the origins of their assets and counterparties, while 48.4% do not. The most popular tool is the built-in features of exchanges (26.6%). Among specialized services, BitOK leads with 11.7%. Russian developments (Inchain, Shard, and others) account for 3.9%.

Source: A7A5.

The authors of the study note that AML mechanisms are evolving but have not yet become standard practice in the Russian market.

How Cryptocurrencies Are Used

73.6% of respondents have held cryptocurrency for over three years and experienced the 2022 crash. More than half (57.4%) are involved with digital assets in a business context.

Cryptocurrency constitutes a significant portion of their portfolios: 56.7% hold more than 30% of their assets in crypto, while 22.7% hold between 75% and 100%.

The most common use cases are trading (26.5%), investing (25.5%), savings (19.9%), and cross-border payments (17.3%). 5.5% use cryptocurrency to maintain financial anonymity.

Storage and Trading

55.9% of participants store their assets in non-custodial wallets (Trust Wallet, hardware wallets, MetaMask). 38.6% keep them on centralized exchanges.

Source: A7A5.

Among traders, Bybit is the leader with a 36.9% share. Of these, 87.4% trade with leverage—on margin or futures markets. More than half (54.5%) make trades daily.

Audience Profile

The average age of market participants is 36.3 years. 89.6% of respondents are male, and 73.4% have higher education. Three-quarters (76.3%) rate their income as average or above average. Nearly half (43.6%) consider their knowledge of cryptocurrencies to be high or expert-level.

Geographically, the market is concentrated in Moscow and the Moscow region (37.9%), as well as in St. Petersburg (10.7%). 9.2% of respondents are located abroad—1.8% in Belarus, 1% in the UAE, and 0.8% in Georgia.

Source: A7A5.

Previously, BitOK launched an educational program to train specialists in AML and crypto compliance. The course focuses on working with jurisdictions in the Eurasian group.