By the end of March, the funds of Russian citizens on foreign centralized crypto exchanges decreased by 23% compared to the previous two quarters, reaching 720 billion rubles, according to a recent financial stability review by the Bank of Russia.
The regulator estimated that 60% of these assets were in Bitcoin, 8% in Ethereum, and 32% in other coins.
According to the “Transparent Blockchain” service, during the reporting period, Russian traffic on foreign CEX websites fell by 32% to 56.5 million visits.
Growth in Synthetic Investments
Additionally, the central bank noted an increase in investments in Russian instruments linked to the value of crypto assets. As of April 1, they reached approximately 3.8 billion rubles.
Specifically, the volume of bonds based on ETFs in circulation amounted to 4.1 billion rubles. Of this, 1.7 billion rubles or 42% was held by individuals and non-profit organizations. The central bank mentioned structured bonds linked to shares of iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF and iShares Ethereum Trust ETF from BlackRock. It also referred to Moscow Exchange futures on Bitcoin and Ethereum indices (MOEXBTC, MOEXETH) and on cryptocurrency ETF shares (IBIT, ETHA).
The net open position of retail investors in cryptocurrency futures was estimated at 1.7 billion rubles, with about 5,600 participants.
Approximately 3,800 people invested 354 million rubles in DFAs. Within auto-following strategies, 271 individuals invested 85.6 million rubles in synthetic crypto instruments.
BTC and ETH Prices Below October Levels
The review states that the crypto market did not recover during the reporting period from the sharp decline in October 2025, unlike the stock market. In April 2026, the average monthly price of Bitcoin was $73,500—36% below the October 2025 level. Ethereum averaged $2,300—45% lower.
The Bank of Russia attributed the correction to a shift of investors to traditional assets amid political tensions, expectations of a more hawkish stance from major central banks, and Bitcoin sell-offs by miners due to rising production costs.
The Bank of Russia also highlighted stablecoins, whose capitalization has remained around $300 billion since October 2025, with transaction volumes reaching $1.5 trillion in March 2026.
In late April, the first reading of the bill “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights” took place. It defines cryptocurrencies as currency value for foreign trade settlements and mandates transactions through licensed intermediaries. The procedure for administering wallets by digital depositories sparked particular debate.
ForkLog discussed the document in detail in a podcast.
