Russia’s central bank says 75–80% of crypto investors lost money as regulators keep tightening control

A senior Bank of Russia official says crypto is increasingly being treated as a payments tool, but only in a fully transparent environment where tax authorities, AML controls, and banks see the flow. For high-risk merchants and PSPs, the message is simple: crypto may still work for cross-border settlement, but the era of pretending it is anonymous is over.

1. Deputy Governor Vladimir Chistyukhin said crypto is now seen more often as a means of settlement with full transaction transparency. In his words, after the appearance of a “hard control environment” in Russia and other countries, the idea of any anonymization no longer finds support.
2. Chistyukhin said crypto should not be treated as a “golden ticket” for investment. Citing his own estimates, he said 75–80% of crypto investors lost money, while only 20–25% made a profit. On that basis, the authorities see a need for restrictions in the crypto market.
3. He did, however, acknowledge the benefits of digital assets, mainly for cross-border payments. Sanctions and international payment difficulties that began in 2022 pushed the Bank of Russia to adjust its approach and abandon a total ban on such assets in Russia.
4. At the same time, Chistyukhin said crypto has already become too widespread to ignore, even though it was left unregulated in the early stages. That is the practical part: once the asset class is embedded in the market, regulators usually move from denial to control.
5. Russia’s Ministry of Finance expects that after trading begins on state-regulated platforms, crypto will flow in large volumes from foreign exchanges and wallets. Deputy Minister Ivan Chebeskov said this inflow should help investors avoid abnormal price gaps in crypto rates.

For PSPs and exchanges serving high-risk verticals, the relevant detail is not the rhetoric about crypto as an asset class. It is the regulatory setup: explicit reporting to tax authorities, AML bodies, and banks, plus a state-backed trading venue model for incoming flows.