The Ruble vs. The Rig
The gap between state bureaucracy and grassroots crypto adoption in Russia just widened. The Social Fund of Russia (SFR), the federal body responsible for pensions and benefits, reported a surge in calls from citizens demanding to know if their pensions can be paid in digital assets.
According to a report first surfaced by the official government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the SFR processed 37 million inquiries in 2025. While most concerned standard benefits, operators noted a “frequent” and specific category of non-standard questions: retirees asking for crypto payouts and clarification on how mining income affects their eligibility for social support.
The SFR’s stance remains rigid.
Operators politely explained that all payments are currently made exclusively in Russian rubles… and that the taxation of digital assets falls entirely within the responsibilities of the Federal Tax Service (FNS).
The Institutional Context
This isn’t random confusion; it is a direct downstream effect of policy. Russia’s crypto mining legalization law took full effect on November 1, 2024, bringing industrial and home mining out of the grey zone.
The specific inquiries regarding “mining income” suggest a new demographic of pensioner-miners, or their families, concerned that declaring crypto yield might disqualify them from means-tested state benefits. Under the new framework, mining income is taxable, and failure to report it carries penalties up to 1.5 million rubles.
By The Numbers
The grassroots interest aligns with institutional data. A recent Chainalysis report confirmed Russia has overtaken the UK and Germany to become Europe’s largest crypto market.
- Volume: $376.3 billion in inflows (July 2024–June 2025).
- Trend: While the SFR insists on rubles, the population is increasingly operating on a dual-track financial system.
For now, the state’s answer is a hard “no.” But the volume of inquiries signals that for many Russians, the ruble is no longer the default store of value, even for their retirement.
