Russia has taken a strong stance against the adoption of Bitcoin as part of its National Wealth Fund (NWF). This move comes as other nations including the U.S and El Salvador are in support of Bitcoin adoption as a reserve asset. The confirmation for this stance came from Vladimir Kolychev, Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister. 

https://twitter.com/CryptosR_Us/status/1897302613424472194

While Russia is “not in for Bitcoin” adoption, institutional interest in BTC is rising. Recently Brazil’s Méliuz confirmed that its board approved allocation of 10% of its cash reserves for Bitcoin purchases. 

Russia’s NWF Will Have No Digital Assets

In a report issued by Interfax, Kolychev stated that Russia’s NWF will not include any digital assets. He stated, “the Russian Ministry of Finance does not plan to change the current regulatory structure of the National Welfare Fund’s investments, and, in particular, to add crypto assets to it.” 

The deputy minister confirmed Russia’s stance against inclusion of digital assets in NWF is due to the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies. “For now the level of savings in the NWF does not allow one to think about risky investments,”  Kolychev added. 

Kolychev gave a definitive answer that no changes were possible to the NWF’s investment structure when questioned about it. He declared to reporters that the investment structure would contain only gold and yuan. “No. Gold and yuan,” he stated. 

The fund can hold a maximum of 60% in yuan with a limitation of investing no more than 40% in gold, according to Interfax. Kolychev further disclosed he was not aware of any talks about a strategic cryptocurrency reserve in Russia similar to proposals made by the Trump administration in the U.S.

Russia’s National Welfare Fund follows two guiding principles to decide its asset holdings: high liquidity combined with low risk. The high level of volatility prevents digital assets from satisfying this criteria.

Kolychev further explained that the NWF has scheduled plans to invest in more volatile assets as its share of GDP moves toward reaching 7–10% levels. The fund currently remains below the mark he mentioned. However, the volume of the National Wealth Fund grew to 11.97 trillion rubles ($122.09 billion) by February 1. This represents 5.6% of the estimated GDP for 2025 according to Russian Finance Ministry reports.

Brazil’s Méliuz Confirms 10% Allocation For BTC Purchases

Bitcoin is gaining institutional attraction worldwide with several firms open to adopt BTC despite Russia’s rejection because of volatility concerns. In a recent development for instance, Méliuz (a Brazilian fintech) confirmed that its board approved the allocation of 10% of its cash reserve to purchasing BTC as part of its new treasury strategy. 

Méliuz has already purchased 45.72 BTC coins worth over $4.1 million at the time of purchase. This firm seeks “long-returns” from this investment as per the securities filing on Mar. 6, 2025. The purchase by the firm confirms that institutional interest around BTC is still high. 

As of the time of this Bitcoin is trading at $90,827.03 after dipping to the $89.2K level earlier today. The current price level shows that BTC has surged by 2.48% on the day. 

However, the crypto market is shifting its focus to the Crypto Summit to be held at the U.S White House tomorrow (Mar. 7, 2025). With the event set to involve discussions around cryptocurrencies, it could impact how the crypto market behaves on the Friday session.