Scores of Russian pensioners want their pensions paid in crypto and spend their free time mining Bitcoin.
The issue of cryptocurrency pensions was one of the Pension and Social Insurance Fund of Russia’s most popular requests last year, the Russian publication RG reported.
The fund said its agents fielded 37 million calls from pensioners in 2025.
“Current trends are being reflected in citizens’ questions,” the fund wrote on its Telegram channel.
“Many people inquired about whether it was possible to receive their pensions in cryptocurrency. Others asked whether their crypto mining income would be taken into account when we calculated their social benefit payments.”
More older people are turning to Bitcoin, as preconceptions about crypto being a young-person’s game begin to fade.
An analyst compared the baby boom generation to the Rock of Gibraltar in 2024, praising older investors’ resilience in hanging onto Bitcoin exchange-traded fund holdings.
Boomers eye Bitcoin
Despite a recent uptick in crypto adoption, Russian law still outlaws the use of crypto as a payment tool for private citizens, government entities, and corporations.
Crypto mining is also gaining momentum in Russia. Most private citizens can mine crypto at home without declaring their activities to the government.
But a November 2024 law stipulates that anyone using more than 6,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month must register with a Federal Tax Service-run registry and pay taxes on their earnings.
“Our experts politely explained to callers that all pension payments made from the fund are made exclusively in rubles,” the fund said. “They told callers that taxation of digital assets falls under the jurisdiction of the Federal Tax Service.”
Elsewhere, crypto adoption is also on the rise in older communities.
Prior to his election in May, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung promised to allow the National Pension Fund to invest in crypto. US pension providers have also discussed buying crypto in the future.
In the US, 12% of men aged 50 or older and 9% of women aged 50 or older say they own crypto, a Gallup poll revealed last year.
And in the UK, the pensions provider Cartwright Pension Trusts has backed an unnamed pension scheme to invest directly in Bitcoin.
The programme has since recorded a 56% gain over 12 months, with Bitcoin accounting for 3% of its holdings.
