• 19% of Brits say they have bought cryptocurrency, up from 3% in 2018
• But 71% have no intention of ever buying crypto
• A quarter of crypto investors (25%) first bought in 2020

23rd, February, 2021, LONDON –

The growth of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin has caught the interest of UK investors, with 19% of Brits saying they have bought cryptocurrency at some point.

According to new research from personal finance comparison site, finder.com, this means almost 10 million people in the UK have now invested in at least one cryptocurrency since Bitcoin was created in 2008.

This is a rise of 558% from 2018, when only 3% of Brits (1.5 million people) said they owned cryptocurrency and the growth of cryptocurrency looks set to continue.

Many invested for the first time in 2020 (25%) and a further 11% said they intended to buy cryptocurrency in future. If this were to happen, it would mean that almost 3 in 10 (29%) of the country would have bought cryptocurrency.

The reasons why people are getting involved
The most popular reason why people have already bought, or intend to buy, cryptocurrency is that they believe it is going to be very influential in the future (23%).

Another 21% of Brits also suggested the potential for higher returns (compared to poor interest rates in savings accounts) as a reason they bought crypto, and the fact it was more accessible thanks to dedicated investing platforms.

A potentially worrying statistic was that 19% of potential, or existing, crypto investors said a factor behind their decision to invest is that it seems like an easy way to make money.

The majority remain unconvinced
Despite the undoubted increase in interest that cryptocurrency has received, the majority of the population are not planning to invest in this anytime soon. 7 in 10 (71%) said they haven’t invested in cryptocurrency and have no plans to do so.

The main reason given from these people was that they simply have no interest in cryptocurrency (41%), while the second most common reason is that they feel it is too risky an investment (31%).

After a tough year for many as a result of the COVID pandemic, 21% of crypto sceptics said they don’t have any money spare to invest. A further 1 in 5 (20%) also find crypto too complicated to understand.

Generation Bitcoin
Unsurprisingly, younger generations are more likely to own cryptocurrency, with 40% of those aged 18 to 34 having invested in at least one cryptocurrency before. A quarter of 35-to-44 year olds (24%) also have invested, but only 12% of 45-to-54 year olds, and just 4% of those aged over 55 had done the same.

When it comes to investing in cryptocurrencies in the future, 21% of 18-to-24 year olds, and 16% of 25-to-34 year olds intend to do so. Men were also much more likely to own cryptocurrency, with 24% of men having already bought some, compared to only 13% of women.

For more detailed breakdowns on the research and other cryptocurrency statistics, please visit: https://www.finder.com/uk/how-to-buy-bitcoin#crypto-stats

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Methodology

Finder commissioned Censuswide on 12-15 February 2021 to carry out a nationally representative survey of adults aged 18+. A total of 2,000 people were questioned throughout Great Britain, with representative quotas for gender, age and region