A Third of All Britons Have Now Used Crypto, Says Coinbase Report

Crypto adoption in the United Kingdom continues to rise, with a reported 33% of the country’s consumers having previously invested in such assets. The figure is up 4% from six months prior, and is second in Europe only to the Netherlands’ whopping 47% statistic.

Britons Buying Bitcoin

The stat was gleaned from a bi-annual analysis conducted by Qualtrics, on behalf of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. It found that 61% of Britons who already own cryptocurrency plan to increase their positions within a year, up from 54% in October 2021.

Of that group, about two-thirds plan to increase their position in the cryptocurrency they are already holding, versus just 23% that wish to expand into new assets.

This is perhaps a reflection of the “tribalism” in the crypto space noted by Ripple’s CEO last month. Many Bitcoiners, for instance, prefer to stick to Bitcoin exclusively, viewing other coins as fundamentally different or invaluable.

At present, Bitcoin and Ethereum are still the most commonly owned cryptocurrencies, possessed by 75% and 52% of holders respectively. Interestingly, Dogecoin comes in third (34%) ahead of Binance Coin (33%), despite being only the 12th largest crypto by market cap right now. This is likely a reflection of Dogecoin’s notoriety, which Grayscale finds second only to Bitcoin.

Other European countries reported less crypto investment overall, with the UK’s ownership figures ahead of Spain (26%), Italy (25%), Germany (24%), and France (17%).

“Recent survey work suggests that the adoption trend may continue, with many sharing ambitions to expand the size and diversification of their portfolios,” said a Coinbase spokesperson, according to CoinTelegraph.

Gauging Consumer Understanding

Coinbase also measured the perceived understanding that consumers had of various crypto assets. About 11% of those surveyed thought they well understood cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin alone – a strikingly similar figure to those who thought they understood traditional investment assets (13%).

In fact, it’s possible that crypto understanding is not lacking, but simply generational. Billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones said as much in a recent interview, where he said he’s “long” on crypto due to the “intelectual capital” entering the industry from colleges today.

According to a CNBC survey from last year, most millennial millionaires are already invested in cryptocurrencies. An Ipsos poll from earlier this week also showed a significant age gap among Americans that prefer to use crypto for payments.