Tracking Trends in Cryptocurrency
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
While legislative efforts regarding cryptocurrencies are underway, views on regulation have held stable. In July 2023, about a quarter of U.S. adults said they think cryptocurrency should be more regulated than other financial assets. In comparison, a slightly lower 22% think it should be regulated similarly to assets like investments and securities, relatively consistent with the 25% who said the same in July 2022. With a congressional bill on regulating cryptocurrencies like securities in progress, it looks like both groups will get a bit of what they want.
Trust and intent to purchase crypto remain stable despite industry volatility. Trust in cryptocurrency has held steady at about 30% for the last three quarters. Purchase intention is also stable, with 24% U.S. adults saying they plan to purchase crypto in the next month. Crypto owners have remained committed to their assets in the wake of mixed news for the industry, like the Ripple Labs v. SEC ruling and the downsizing of more crypto companies.
The crypto ownership gap between women and men remains. Fewer women than men own cryptocurrency overall: only 12% of women own crypto compared to more than twice that, 25%, of men. Bitcoin is the most popular coin among women and men, with 8% and 20% saying they own it, respectively.
Cryptocurrency Ownership
Bitcoin Ownership
Reported Cryptocurrency Sales
Anticipated Cryptocurrency Purchases
Familiarity With Cryptocurrency and Related Topics
Trust in Cryptocurrency and Related Topics
Opinion on Cryptocurrency Regulation
Opinion on Cryptocurrencies’ Impact on Society
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 for her contributions to this research.
Caroline Smith is a manager of financial services intelligence at Morning Consult, where she analyzes high-frequency data to help the company deliver real-time insights to the financial services sector.