Former Bank of Russia deputy governor backs BTC against the dollar, not gold

Bitcoin will hardly become an alternative to gold in the near future, largely as a result of its monopolized market, according to a former deputy head of the Bank of Russia.

The financial expert believes, however, that the cryptocurrency is going to appreciate against major fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar due to its fixed supply, which protects it from inflation.

Bitcoin will not substitute gold due to crypto whales

Bitcoin (BTC) is unlikely to displace gold or become a full-fledged alternative in the coming years because of the highly monopolized crypto market.

That’s according to Oleg Vyugin, a prominent Russian economist, former deputy minister of finance and deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR).

Speaking for the popular YouTube channel of Russian blogger Alexander Sokolovsky this week, Vyugin assessed the prospects for the leading cryptocurrency.

Theoretically, Bitcoin’s market capitalization could potentially approach that of the precious metal, the expert estimated.

However, the digital coin’s strong dependence on the behavior of large holders and significant market manipulation makes it extremely unstable and difficult to predict. This, Vyugin emphasized, limits Bitcoin’s potential as a safe-haven asset.

At the same time, the financier highlighted some of the crypto’s advantages over fiat currencies in the interview, quoted by Lenta.ru, Gazeta.ru and other Russian news outlets.

He remarked, for example, that its limited supply is fixed at a “programmatic level” and is not subject to inflationary erosion, noting that Bitcoin-denominated assets retain their intrinsic value over time.

Vyugin, who is a professor at Russia’s Higher School of Economics (HSE) national research university in Moscow, supposed that the prices of a given stock expressed in BTC in early 2026 and five years later will be comparable.

This means that the rise in the cryptocurrency’s price would increase investor returns in dollar terms without a change in the fundamental value of the asset itself, he elaborated.

With that in mind, the former high-ranking Russian official believes in the long-term appreciation of Bitcoin against the U.S. dollar.

Russia set to regulate crypto investments in 2026

Bitcoin is leaving behind a turbulent year. The cryptocurrency with the largest market cap started 2025 at around $100,000 per coin and later crossed this threshold several times, reaching a new all-time high of over $124,000 and dropping below $90,000, the level where it’s currently trading in early 2026.

Last year also marked a turning point in Russia’s policy toward crypto assets. Holdings and adoption have been growing amid sanctions limiting Russian access to global fiat channels and some foreign currency restrictions imposed to prevent capital flight earlier in the war with Ukraine.

In a departure from its stubbornly conservative stance on decentralized digital money, the Bank of Russia proposed an “experimental legal regime” last spring, opening cross-border crypto payments for Russian firms.

Initially announced as a three-year pilot, the ELR also gave a small group of “highly qualified” investors the opportunity to legally buy and trade Bitcoin, Ethereum and the like well as their derivatives.

Then, the monetary authority suggested replacing the temporary arrangement with permanent and comprehensive regulation expected to be adopted by July 2026.

Recognizing cryptocurrencies and stablecoins as “currency assets” as well as expanding investor access to the market are among the key proposals in its new regulatory concept published in late December.

Crypto transactions have been on the rise throughout Eastern and Central Europe. According to Czech media reports earlier this week, domestic turnover in the country reached $750 million in 2025, as reported by Cryptopolitan.

Quoted representatives of the industry there expect BTC to surpass its year’s record high in the coming months. And according to an estimate referenced by Russian media, Bitcoin’s peak price may exceed $140,000 in 2026.

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