Recent research from the Federal Reserve indicates that while the cryptocurrency market has experienced a resurgence, ownership levels among the surveyed population have not seen a similar increase. The report, released by the Philadelphia Consumer Finance Institute, analyzed data gathered from surveys conducted between January 2022 and July 2024, using Bitcoin ’s price fluctuations as a benchmark for the market’s performance.
The findings reveal that the number of individuals owning cryptocurrency fell sharply during the crypto winter of late 2022, decreasing from 24.6% in January 2022 to 19.1% by October 2022. Even as the market recovered over the next 18 months, ownership rates remained stagnant, with only 17.1% of respondents reporting crypto ownership in October 2023, which dipped further to 15.4% by January 2024. Notably, there was no significant uptick in ownership during Bitcoin ’s price peak in March or its halving event in April, falling to 16.1% in April and declining again to 14.7% by July.
Despite the lack of increase in ownership, the Federal Reserve found a growing interest in future cryptocurrency purchases. Following a sharp decline during the crypto winter, where the intention to buy crypto dropped from 18.8% to 10.6%, this interest rebounded significantly, with 21.8% of respondents expressing willingness to invest in crypto by April 2024.
The surveys were conducted through two web-based initiatives, targeting a sample size of 5,000 representative responses. Since the start of 2023, crypto markets have surged by nearly 150%, despite experiencing a downturn since mid-March. In a separate survey conducted in May, it was reported that approximately 18 million individuals in the U.S. owned or utilized cryptocurrency, a figure that contrasts with estimates suggesting that over 52 million Americans own crypto as of September 2023.
