Updated: Jan. 24, 2023 | By Charlotte Principato and Caroline Smith
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 quarterly tracker is included at the bottom of this page.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Despite industry volatility, cryptocurrency ownership remains stable. Nearly 2 in 10 consumers still say they own crypto, the same as in January 2022. Bitcoin remains the most popular coin, with 14% of U.S. adults saying they own it. Ethereum follows, with 9% of U.S. adults reporting they own the coin.
More consumers say they don’t trust crypto. Trust in cryptocurrency fell 7 percentage points year over year, from 35% last January to 28% this month. The same trend holds true for specific coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which saw 6- and 12-point drops in trust, respectively, compared with last January.
Purchasing intent and reported sales have also dropped. Purchasing intent has fallen 4 points year over year, with 22% of U.S. adults saying they are likely to purchase crypto in the next month, down from 26% last January. Bitcoin sales have also slipped recently: 30% of crypto owners say they sold bitcoin in the last month, compared with 37% in October 2022.
Share of U.S. adults who say they own cryptocurrency
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CRYPTOCURRENCY OWNERSHIP AND USAGE
Share of respondents who say they own each
Shares of each reporting that they own bitcoin
Share of cryptocurrency owners saying they sold any of the following in the last month:
Reported likelihood of purchasing cryptocurrency in the next month
Respondents were asked what they expect the price of bitcoin to be in six months
CRYPTOCURRENCY FAMILIARITY AND OPTIONS
Share reporting they are very or somewhat familiar
Respondents who had heard of a given topic were asked how much they trust it (net trust)
Respondents were asked how regulated cryptocurrency should be relative to financial assets such as securities and investment funds
Respondents were asked which statement they agree with more
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Methodology
The Cryptocurrency Insights Hub 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 plus or minus 1 percentage point.
Correction: A previous version of the Bitcoin Price Prediction chart misstated U.S. adults’ predictions of the future price of bitcoin in January, July and October 2022 due to a calculation error. It has been updated.
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 press@morningconsult.com.
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
About the author
Charlotte Principato is a financial services analyst at Morning Consult, where she leads the company’s analysis to deliver real-time insights to the financial services sector.
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.
Email press@morningconsult.com to speak with a member of the Morning Consult team.