Bitcoin outpaced the entire Russian market: a yield of 10.1% in July — a new record among assets
Bitcoin has once again proven its uniqueness as an investment asset. In July 2026, the yield of the first cryptocurrency amounted to 10.1%, allowing it to take the top spot in the Central Bank of Russia's ranking, outperforming all traditional instruments—from Russian stocks to foreign bonds.
The regulator included BTC in its monthly financial markets review, calculating the total ruble yield taking into account price changes, dividends, and coupon payments. For currency instruments, the ruble exchange rate was also factored in, making these figures relevant specifically for the Russian investor.
Bitcoin—July's Leader
In the Central Bank's reference section dedicated to foreign assets, bitcoin demonstrated the maximum result—10.1%. For comparison, the U.S. stock index S&P 500 TR gained only 2.6%, while the U.S. Treasury Bond Index rose by 1.7%. The gap between BTC and its closest competitor proved more than significant: the chemical industry, which showed the best result among Russian sectors, stopped at 7.9%, trailing bitcoin by more than two percentage points.
It is important to emphasize that the Central Bank classifies cryptocurrency as a reference foreign instrument, not mixing it with Russian assets. This approach makes it possible to clearly demonstrate the scale of BTC's yield against the backdrop of securities and deposits familiar to the domestic market.
What the Other Instruments Showed
In the Russian segment, the chemical industry delivered the best result with a yield of 7.9%. Next came transport (5.5%), construction (4.9%), and electric power (4.0%). Retail brought in 3.6%, while currency deposits were among the most profitable: deposits in yuan yielded 3.1%, in dollars—2.8%, and in euros—2.6%.
The middle block of the table was occupied by corporate bonds and the IT sector: securities rated "BBB" returned 2.3%, IT—2.2%, OFZ—2.0%, and bonds of groups "A" and "AA"—1.7% and 1.4%, respectively. Banks and finance yielded 1.7%, ruble-denominated money market exchange-traded funds—1.2%, and ruble deposits—1.1%. Gold showed a modest 1.5%, while top-rated "AAA" securities and the oil and gas sector limited themselves to 0.8%.
Three instruments went negative: subordinated bonds lost 0.9%, the Moscow Exchange index fell by 1.2%, and the worst result of the month was posted by the metals and mining sector with a minus of 6.1%. At the same time, as the regulator notes, over the past 12 months, gold, corporate bonds, and ruble money market instruments have brought the highest total yield.
My view: It is telling that bitcoin once again demonstrates correlation with global risk appetite, outpacing even the strongest emerging market sectors. However, one should not forget: high returns come with high volatility. For a long-term investor, BTC remains a diversification tool, but its place in a portfolio should be determined solely by individual risk tolerance, not short-term rankings.