Almost one fifth (18%) of UK adults own cryptocurrency and nearly half of these (45%) invested for the first time in 2021, revealing massive growth in terms of adoption.
The figures come from Gemini’s new ‘2022 Global State of Crypto’ report which surveyed 29,293 adults from across twenty countries, including 2,300 people from the UK.
Gemini is a cryptocurrency exchange that was launched in 2015 by the Winklevoss twins. Recently, it has received major external funding from traditional institutions and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have hinted at a potential initial public offering (IPO).
The report explored awareness and adoption of cryptocurrencies, motivations for owning and trading crypto, and general attitudes towards digital assets including barriers to owning them.
Gemini’s research shows the UK is similar to other European countries in terms of adoption, such as Ireland (18%) and Germany (17%). Data for Australia and the US, at 18% and 20% respectively, suggests that developed nations are more or less on par in terms of growing adoption.
The Western world appears more conservative when compared with other nations globally, however. Brazil and Indonesia had the highest crypto ownership, with both countries seeing 41% of its citizens owning crypto. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) charted in just behind at 35%.
Despite the UK’s relatively low levels of ownership, 49% of UK respondents who do not currently own crypto saying they are interested in learning more or likely to buy it in the next 12 months. Of those identified as ‘crypto curious’, the majority (55%) were women.
Other key highlights of the report included:
- The average age of investors is 36, with 62% of investors aged 25-44
- Crypto ownership is highest in London (23%), followed by the North West (12%), South East (11%) and East Anglia (11%)
- Mostly Bitcoin. The most commonly owned currencies by UK investors are Bitcoin (69%) followed by Ethereum (33%)
Blair Halliday, head of UK at Gemini, said, “Last year was transformational for cryptocurrency ownership, with significant growth in UK adoption. A high proportion of UK investors see crypto as a long-term store of value, suggesting more people are recognising crypto’s part to play in a diversified investment portfolio.
There is a huge opportunity to support those who expressed interest in learning more, and Gemini is focused on providing simple tools and high quality education to enable the curious consumers to start their journey.”
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