Can Cryptocurrency Payment of Pensions Become a Popular Non-Standard Inquiry for the Russian Social Fund?

BlockBeats News, January 11th, the Customer Service Hotline of the Social Fund of Russia processed a total of approximately 37 million calls in 2025, with the majority being routine inquiries (such as pensions, social welfare, etc.). However, among non-standard questions, inquiries related to cryptocurrency saw a significant increase, becoming one of the most common inquiries. The most popular cryptocurrency questions include whether it is possible to receive a pension in cryptocurrency and whether mining income will affect social welfare calculations.

The Social Fund of Russia clearly stated in response that all pensions and social payments are currently only issued in rubles, and digital assets are not within the purview of the Social Fund. Cryptocurrency income and tax issues are handled by the Federal Tax Service of Russia. According to a Chainalysis report, Russia has become the largest cryptocurrency market in Europe, surpassing the UK and Germany. From July 2024 to June 2025, Russia received $376.3 billion in cryptocurrency inflows, a 48% year-over-year increase, far exceeding the $273.2 billion in the UK. Large transfers increased by 86% year-over-year, and DeFi activity grew 8 times in 2025.