It's been a rough 18 months for cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin's price has dropped over 60% since its peak in 2021, a number of crypto projects and exchanges have gone bankrupt, and regulators have stepped up sanctions against some of the industry's biggest players.
Interest in Cryptocurrencies Continues Increasingly
Some may see this as proof that crypto has always been a fad and cannot go beyond that.
In fact, there is compelling evidence to the contrary. The fact that the number of people dealing with crypto continues to rise is testament to the lasting power of the asset class.
University of Chicago finance professor Michael Weber and three co-authors found that since 2018, cryptocurrency ownership has increased from 2% of the population to 12% by December 2022.
They shared these findings in a new study paper describing the results from repeated surveys of a panel of participants over the past five years.
“Most people had very little knowledge of what cryptocurrencies are,” Weber says.
“But then, as more and more people became aware, the proportion of those who invested at least some of their wealth in crypto continued to rise despite the recent poor performance.”
Asking a slightly different question in April, the Pew Research Center found that 17% of respondents have invested, traded, or used a cryptocurrency.
16% of them entered crypto last year, when crypto prices fell sharply.
Studies show that the asset class is extremely popular, especially among young men.
When Weber and his co-authors jokingly asked, "Do You Even Crypto, Bro? They reported that 17 of them own crypto, whereas 9% of women own crypto.
Only 5% of men and 3% of women over 60 reported having this presence.
*Not investment advice.
