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FEATURE Crypto Weekly
Crypto has only been Used by 12% of Americans 12% of American adults used cryptocurrency as an investment last year rather than as a currency, a Federal Reserve survey shows. 12% said they bought or held the cryptocurrency for investment purposes, and 2% used it to buy something or make a payment. A further 1% used it to send money to friends and family, according to the annual survey that surveyed over 11,000 U.S. adults between October and November 2021 about their economic well-being.
Survey respondents could select multiple answers. In contrast to how cryptocurrency is often portrayed as a payment vehicle that promotes financial inclusion, the results indicate that the asset class is primarily viewed in the U.S. as an investment vehicle. Investing in cryptocurrencies makes sense since their market capitalization grew by 86%, from $335 billion to $2.54 trillion during the survey period, according to CoinMarketCap.
Only 46% of self-identified crypto investors earned $100,000 or more, while 29% earned less than $50,000. Ninety-nine percent of investors did not have retirement savings but had a bank account. In contrast, 2% of people who used the asset class for financial transactions were unbanked, low income, and did not have a credit card. A survey conducted from late November to February, after the crypto market peaked at the beginning of November, found that 20% of U.S. adults owned cryptocurrency. According to other surveys, such as one from cryptocurrency exchange Gemini at the start of April, the Fed's figures fall short of the level of U.S. crypto adoption. In contrast, data from both surveys and Chainalysis's largest geography study suggest that cryptocurrency isn't primarily used for payments in developed countries. The U.S. ranked eighth in the study overall for crypto adoption, third for total crypto activity, and fourth among non-professional, individual crypto users. Despite this, the U.S. ranked 109th in peer-to-peer exchange volume.
June 2022 | Volume 29
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