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Updated on Nov 4, 2024
Updates quarterly

Tracking Trends in Cryptocurrency

A look at familiarity, ownership and usage of cryptocurrency
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Cryptocurrency and its underlying technology stand to fundamentally alter the financial services industry, particularly the way consumers manage their finances and transact with one another. Or it could all be just a passing fad. The speed of cryptocurrency’s adoption and the uncertainty about its future mean it is imperative that financial services leaders track its developments.

The methodology for the tracker is included at the bottom of this page.

Key Takeaways

  • Bitcoin ownership remains consistent. In April, 13% of U.S. adults said they own bitcoin, consistent with the previous quarter. Men, millennials and high earners are most likely to report owning the cryptocurrency.

  • There’s an uptick in those considering purchasing cryptocurrency. A quarter (25%) of U.S. adults said it’s likely they’ll purchase cryptocurrency in the next month, up 3 percentage points since January 2024 and 5 points since October 2023. Bitcoin saw a similar rise in purchasing consideration, rising 3 points from January 2024 and 6 points since October 2023.

  • Consumers are more likely to distrust than trust cryptocurrency. Nearly 7 in 10 (69%) consumers aware of cryptocurrency said they trust it “not much” or “not at all,” 38 points higher than those who said they trust it “a lot” or “some.”

Data Downloads

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A sortable XLSX file of Morning Consult’s cryptocurrency tracker among U.S. adults and key demographics.
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Cryptocurrency Ownership

Share of respondents who said they own each
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Bitcoin Ownership

Shares of each who said they own bitcoin
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Reported Cryptocurrency Sales

Share of cryptocurrency owners who said they sold any of the following in the last month:
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Anticipated Cryptocurrency Purchases

Share of respondents who said they are likely to purchase the following in the next month:
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Share of respondents who said they are very or somewhat familiar with the following:
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Respondents who had heard of a given topic were asked how much they trust it (net trust)
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Net trust is defined as the share of U.S. adults who said they trust each “a lot” or “some” minus the share who said “not much” or “not at all.”

Opinion on Cryptocurrency Regulation

Share of respondents who said cryptocurrency should be more, less or similarly regulated relative to financial assets such as securities and investment funds
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Opinion on Cryptocurrencies’ Impact on Society

Share of respondents who agree with each statement
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Full text of response options: “Cryptocurrencies are mostly beneficial to society because they don’t rely on traditional financial institutions and can offer underserved populations greater access to wealth” and “Cryptocurrencies are mostly harmful to society because they don’t rely on traditional financial institutions and make it easier for criminals including terrorists to commit crimes.”

Source of This Data

Methodology

This tracker relies on data collected quarterly through Morning Consult’s proprietary survey research capabilities. The interviews are conducted online, and the data are weighted to approximate a representative sample of U.S. adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race and region. Results from the full survey have a monthly sample size of 4,400 U.S. adults and an unweighted margin of error of +/- 1 percentage point.

In October 2022, Morning Consult changed the survey frequency of our Cryptocurrency Insights Hub. To request monthly data from January 2022 to August 2022, please reach out to [email protected].

About Morning Consult

Morning Consult is a global decision intelligence company changing how modern leaders make smarter, faster, better decisions. The company pairs its proprietary high-frequency data with applied artificial intelligence to better inform decisions on what people think and how they will act. Learn more at morningconsult.com.

Email [email protected] to speak with a member of the Morning Consult team.

The author would like to thank Charlotte Principato and Jaime Toplin for their contributions to this research.

Email [email protected] to speak with a member of the Morning Consult team.