This first-ever report with a global scope and focus on crypto retail users examines data from over 61,000 crypto users around the world, shedding light on the motivations, behaviors, and preferences of this growing audience.
According to the findings, there is near-unanimous confidence in cryptocurrencies (97%) amongst users. More than half (52%) do not consider crypto investing as a hobby, but instead as a means of income; for 15% of users, crypto is considered their primary source of income. Meanwhile, the top three reasons users invest in crypto are (1) to own crypto as part of a long-term investment strategy (55%), (2) a distrust of the current financial system (38%), and (3) short-term trading opportunities (31%).
Retail investment in cryptocurrencies is growing around the world. As cryptocurrencies have become more accessible via a wide array of channels – Paypal, LocalBitcoins, Grayscale, Binance, and others – it is increasingly important to understand the dominant user-profiles and their corresponding preferences. Aside from anecdotal reports, there has not been an objective investigation into the motivations, behaviors, and preferences of these growing audiences from a global scope.
That’s why we created the Global Crypto User Index.
The survey was translated into eight different languages (English, Spanish, Russian, Turkish, Chinese, Vietnamese, German, Dutch) and disseminated via a web-based questionnaire for a global audience, along with a dedicated survey for the Chinese market.
The respectively used channels included:
All responses were regionally clustered into countries and markets. Some countries might appear significantly over-represented (i.e., Turkey), whereas other countries may appear under-represented (i.e., Japan). Importantly, the lack of a clear sample frame is an inherent problem of the crypto ecosystem. It describes the entire population, of which some individuals are being polled. As such, a sample frame is always required to see how representative the polled group is and can be used to ensure external validity of the survey research results. The sample frame can be deduced by using theoretically available proxy data, such as:
By leveraging additional data that is external to the survey data, it was possible to balance the survey population. Such a “post-stratification” ensures that insights are not only valid for the questioned sample, but their broader sample frame: the entire population of active crypto users.
Based on this understanding, all countries were grouped into 20 markets. The market grouping may, at times, appear arbitrary, but was ..