Cryptocurrency acceptance, both at the retail and institutional levels, is growing at a fast pace. Interestingly, some major strides in terms of investment market share took place only in 2021. According to a new report, the vast majority of American crypto owners made their first-ever crypto investment last year. The survey found that almost 7 in 10 American crypto holders started investing in Bitcoin and altcoins in 2021.
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Another report claims that 26% of Americans now own Bitcoin. However, the Ethereum revolution seems to be making its impact somewhere else. Singapore, Australia, and the U.K. lead the world in terms of Ether Ownership.
68% Americans Began Crypto Investment in 2021
A survey conducted in December 2021 assessed the crypto knowledge of the respondents and their thoughts on the market’s rise. While around 68% of respondents claimed that 2021 was the first year they ventured into the world of crypto investment, it was only the second year since they began investing in digital coins. Some of the other key findings from the survey were as follows:
- 12% of people made their first investment in crypto in the past 4 years
- 9% had been investing in crypto for over 4 years
- 46% said that they invested no more than $1,000
- 25% said their investment was in the range of $1,000 and $10,000
Skepticism Around Crypto Investment
The same survey also found enough evidence to show that the crypto industry was still seen by a significant percentage of Americans as an unreliable investment platform.
- 42% said that they felt the crypto investment was too risky for them
- 34% said they had concerns about the lack of crypto market regulations
- 24% said they didn’t have the capital required to invest
2021 was nothing more than a groundbreaking year for cryptocurrency. It was the year of the rise of technologies and areas such as nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized finance.
Over 26% of Americans Own Bitcoin
Another survey conducted a month ago had established the fact that 26% of Americans owned Bitcoin. Around 55% of these investors had made their crypto market entry within the past year. Since 60% of the respondents claimed that they were highly interested in investing in digital assets, it means that the potential for growth in the sector was big. More investors now see long-term value in including Bitcoin and a number of other altcoins into their investment portfolios.
The UK Becomes the Third Largest Market in Ether Ownership
According to another December survey, the U.K. became the third-largest market for Ether ownership. Overall crypto adoption in the country grew by 1% since October 2021.
Singapore leads the world in holding the largest volume of the Ethereum token, followed by Australia. Overall, U.K. residents hold 32.9% of global Ether circulation. The country has a share of 17.4% of XRP.
At the same time, the survey found that the global interest in Ether declined from 24.4% in October to 28.2% in December. While U.K. owners maintained their share, it is the global investors that shed some of their Ether ownership.
Some of the additional findings from the study were as follows:
- Bitcoin is the most popular crypto in the country
- Bitcoin (BTC) has a U.K. crypto market share of 42.8% but has shown signs of slowing
- Earlier, BTC had a 56.7% market share
Impact of Bitcoin’s Price Slowdown
The crypto market has been bearish for many months and this has affected the U.K. investors’ behavior. A significant amount of portfolio rebalancing and selling took place before the New Year. While the ownership of Bitcoin declined, Solana and Dogecoin made some good gains.
Bitcoin ownership fell globally on most trading platforms, with Australia alone being a market that recorded BTC gain. It is also the country with the highest ratio of Bitcoin owners worldwide.
Emerging markets have shown positive indicators in crypto adoption. The countries making the biggest impact include Russia, the Philippines, Colombia, and India, recording the fastest growth.
Cryptocurrency investment has a long way to go before mainstream adoption can take place. As more people understand the industry and realize the potential benefits, this market is expected to expand like anything. Greater clarity on global crypto regulations is further expected to make a positive impact in this space.
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