Russians Ask if Pensions Can Be Paid in Crypto as Adoption Rises

Inquiries about whether or not pensions may be paid in crypto have grow to be one of the vital frequent non-standard requests acquired by the Social Fund of Russia, a state-run establishment answerable for managing Russia’s public pension system.

In 2025, the Social Fund’s name heart dealt with roughly 37 million calls, the overwhelming majority associated to routine issues similar to pensions, advantages and maternity capital. Nonetheless, operators additionally more and more fielded questions on digital belongings, accordingly to a Saturday report from Rossiyskaya Gazeta (Russian Gazette), the official every day newspaper of the Russian authorities.

Among the many commonest crypto-related inquiries have been whether or not Russian residents might obtain pension funds in cryptocurrency and whether or not earnings from crypto mining could be factored into the calculation of social advantages. The fund stated these questions appeared usually sufficient to face out from the general name quantity.

In response, operators stated all pensions and social funds are issued in rubles, and digital belongings fall outdoors the Social Fund’s remit. They added that issues associated to cryptocurrency earnings and taxation are dealt with by the Federal Tax Service of Russia, not by pension authorities.

Associated: World sanctions linked to document flows into illicit crypto addresses

Russia overtakes UK, Germany in crypto adoption

As Cointelegraph reported, Russia has emerged as Europe’s largest crypto market, outpacing international locations similar to the UK and Germany, in response to an October report from Chainalysis. The examine revealed that Russia acquired $376.3 billion in cryptocurrency between July 2024 and June 2025, giving it a transparent lead over the UK, which recorded $273.2 billion throughout the identical interval.

The report attributed Russia’s rise to a pointy improve in institutional exercise and broader use of decentralized finance. Giant crypto transfers above $10 million surged 86% yr over yr, practically double the expansion fee seen throughout the remainder of Europe. Total crypto inflows into Russia rose 48% from the earlier yr, widening the hole with different main European economies.

Retail utilization and DeFi adoption additionally performed a key function. Russia recorded stronger progress in each massive and small retail segments than the remainder of Europe, whereas DeFi exercise jumped eightfold in early 2025.

Associated: Telegram income jumps to $870M in H1 2025; $2B full-year goal: FT

Russia proposes crypto entry for retail traders

Final month, the Financial institution of Russia proposed a coverage change that might permit non-qualified traders to purchase sure cryptocurrencies beneath strict circumstances.