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Russia (formerly known as the Soviet Union) is home to a quickly growing cohort of Bitcoin enthusiasts. With legacy banks that don't work for the people and a waning and perpetually depressed economy that only seems to work for the nation's elite, regular citizens are turning to Bitcoin, both as a store of value and a way to get paid as an alternative to the Russian Ruble.

But the Russian government is clearly not happy with this. In September 2021, the Bank of Russia stated that it would slow down payments to cryptocurrency exchanges. The official reason given for the intentional delays were to curb 'emotional' buying of cryptocurrency, but most people believe it is a move by the government to discourage purchases of crypto.

If you think you may want to join this group of Russians opting out of the legacy financial system or feel that system is designed to hold you back, then this page is for you. We list all of the top exchanges serving Russia above, but below we will cover more country specific data with regards to Bitcoin in Russia.

Siberia, Russia's largest area of land, is home to some large Bitcoin mining farms

One of the easiest ways to buy Bitcoin in Russia is through the cryptocurrency exchanges outlined above. There are several exchanges offering Bitcoin in Russia, allowing you to select one based on your requirements and preferences using our guide. Different exchanges have different transaction fees, withdrawal limits, payment modes, and verification processes that need to be kept in mind before users select one.

Additionally, Bitcoin buyers need to keep in mind that certain exchanges might require you to get a wallet of your own before being able to buy the digital currency. Even if there is no requirement, it is recommended to have a wallet of your own for security reasons (preferably a hardware wallet). If you don’t have a wallet, refer to our guide on the Best Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Wallets to choose one.

Another way to buy Bitcoins in Russia is through automated teller machines (ATMs). These ATMs allow users to instantly purchase the cryptocurrency using cash, and most of them only require a telephone number for verification, so long as you aren’t buying a lot of Bitcoin, they are more private than exchanges. Just be aware that Bitcoin ATMs are pretty rare in Russia, so you likely won't find one near you.

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There are three main types of Bitcoin wallet and all of them are supported in Russia:

• Software (desktop or mobile - iOS and Android wallets
• Hardware wallet
• Cold-storage (paper or steel wallets, the latter of which are used to backup your main wallet.

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Ethereum (ETH) has established itself as the second most popular digital currency, after Bitcoin. Its smart contract features allow unique apps to be built on top of its platform. Below you will find exchanges in Russia that allow you to buy ethereum. Once you buy, you should withdrawal your ETH directly to your own crypto wallet.

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Thanks to Tesla founder Elon Musk, Dogecoin (DOGE)—a coin that started as a meme about the shiba inu dog—has recently become a popular digital currency. Below you can find crypto exchanges in Canada that allow you purchase Dogecoin.

About Dogecoin: Dogecoin has become one of the most famous altcoin blockchains. Dogecoin was founded by Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus on December 6, 2013. Thanks to its popularity on Robinhood, it hit an all time high of $0.42 on April 20. Doge started the year at under $0.01 USD. It is an open source blockchain, meaning its code is publicly available for anyone to see.

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Litecoin (LTC) is one of largest cryptocurrencies by market cap. Below you can find a list of brokerages in Russia that allow you to buy litecoin and other crypto assets for good exchange rates.

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Bitcoin7 Hack

In October of 2011, the server farm of the Bitcoin7 exchange was hacked, thereby giving the attackers access to bitcoin7 and its user database as well as some of its hot wallets. Many client funds were stolen, though it is unclear to what degree.

Bitcoin7 promised it would hire personnel and develop new technology to prevenet similar hacks from happening and do its best to make its customers whole, but in order to do so, they required the customers to hand over a list of peronally identifying documents to do so.

These included:

• Scanned ID/Passport;
• Proof of address/utility bill;
• Proof of funding or bank statement;
• ABA/SWIFT number for bank transfer;
• Bank name and address.

Many users were angry this would be required, as the exchange had just proven it was incapable of keeping client data secure. Many beleived this was a stunt pulled by Bitcoin7 to make compliance so difficult that most would find it too costly to be worth the refund.

MMM Scam

The MMM scam was the brainchild of Russian Ponzi scammer Sergei Mavrodi"MMM" stood for "We can do a lot" in Russian. It first began in the 1990's, with 10 million Russian victims. The scam guaranteed 1,000% returns to its investors, and even had its own paper currency at one point. It was said that money was coming in so fast, that workers didn't even have time to count it all and so they resorted to weighing it.

An image of what the Mavro paper money looked like

However, MMM was shut down in 1994 by Russian authorities for operating what was clearly a ponzi scheme that is beleived to have stolen anywehre from $100M to $1B USD worth of value from its victims. The scam was so successful because at that time, Russians were so new to market economies that they had no idea what a real, legitimate investment should even look like.

This was not the end of MMM, though. Mavrodi would continue the same scam in both Russia and elsewhere over the following 24 years until his death in 2018. These days, the scam involves helping clients set up cryptocurrency wallets, where they could send MMM Bitcoins in exchange for Mavro coins - a crypto version of the Mavro dollars printed in the 1990's before the first shutdown.

This scam still runs today, especially in countries like India and Mexico. If you ever see the MMM name, run.

MMMIndia homepage - now defunct

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The cost of electricity per kWh is about $0.056. If you are using a brand new Antminer S19 Pro (which will cost you around $4,500), mining at 110 Th/s and pulling 3,250W, you would lose around $1,572 per year.

Calculations using an Antminer S19 Pro

Russia is, therefore not a great place to mine Bitcoins. However, that doesn't stop a lot of people from trying.

Though, when large mining operations do open, it usually because they have some discount on these costs that most other cannot get.

Take the newly launched Siberian Bitcoin mining farm opened in late 2019. This mining farm employs an old Soviet aluminum plant in a city now known for data centers and server farms.

Calculations using an Antminer S19 Pro

It partnered with a local energy company En+, which sources its energy from hydroelectric power nearby, greatly reducing costs since the mining farm is utilizing the excess capacity that would otherwise be wasted. Because of this arrangement, the hydroelectric company gets at least a small amount for the otherwise wasted energy, and the mining farm gets energy for pennies on the dollar. This is what makes mining in Russia possible for some.

However, to pull this off, you need massive up front investment, partners in the energy sector, and technical know how.

The truth is, for most poeple, mining in russia will lose you a lot of money. If you want Bitcoins, you are better off buying them from one of the exchanges listed above.

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Does Coinbase work in Russia?

Coinbase does NOT support customers in Russia as of September of 2020.

Where Can I Find a Bitcoin ATM in Russia?

You can use our Bitcoin ATM finder tool to find the one nearest you.

What is the price of Bitcoin in Russia?

Bitcoin prices are changing every second.

The best way to find the most up-to-date price of Bitcoin is to check out our Bitcoin price page.

What percent of Russians own bitcoin?

While it is very difficult to know with much certainty how many Russians own Bitcoin, we do have some small survey data to help us guess.

WCIOM conducted a study of 1,600 Russians aged 18 and older. It asks them a series of questions about Bitcoin, but when asked if the respondents owned any Bitcoin themselves, only 2% said they did. This is a fairly large sample size, however many Bitcoiners would be unlikely to admit that they own any Bitcoin, so the number could very well be higher than this.

Which stores accept Bitcoin in Russia

Bitcoin is not really accepted in very many cities or establishments in Russia. You can see the most activity in the South of the country (near Kemerovo, Abakan, and Novosibirsk, and others), as well as small blips in the West (in Novy Urengoy) and the South-East (in Magadan and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky) However, you can find specific kinds of services and goods filterable on a map over at coinmap.org.

The colored sections indicate areas where there is heavier acceptance of Bitcoin

How do I cash out of Bitcoin in Russia?

Any exchange with a Russian Ruble trading pair will allow you to sell your Bitcoin for fiat currency. Matbea has RUB trading pairs for many popular coins.

Another way to sell Bitcoins in Russia is through automated teller machines (ATMs). These ATMs allow users to instantly purchase and sell cryptocurrency using cash, however most of them require at least a phone number, so they aren't totally private.

LocalBitcoins is another option. Here, you can buy and sell Bitcoin for a wide range of payment methods, from gift cards to bank transfers. LocalBitcoins is a peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange, where you buy and sell with another individual. This does introduce a degree of risk, though by ensuring that you conduct all business on the platform, make use of its escrow services, and only trade with users who have a good reputation, you'll minimize any potential problems.

You could also use a service like eGifter to sell your Bitcoin for gift cards.

How much Bitcoin volume comes from Russia?

Russia is reaponsible for the most peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading volume of any other country on Earth, with $32M worth of Bitcoin being traded each month on LocalBitcoins alone. This doesn't include other P2P exchanges like Paxful. This number is harder to know, Paxful self-reports $2.2B in Bitcoin traded on their site each year, but other research suggests its more like $4.8M.

At any rate, numbers like these suggest that Russia is in the top 10 for Bitcoin volume overall, though you wouldnt know it based on how few establishments accept Bitcoin as money. Though, this is likely because Russia does not allow businesses to accept Bitcoin as payment.