HomeCryptoFCA research reveals two million crypto holders in the UK

FCA research reveals two million crypto holders in the UK

According to FCA crypto research, there are 2.6 million people in the United Kingdom who have purchased cryptocurrencies. 

This is the Cryptoasset consumer research 2020 published today on the official website of the UK Financial Conduct Authority, the United Kingdom’s financial markets regulator. 

The report is very thorough and has been prepared by Rebecca English, Gergana Tomova and Joseph Levene. 

The research was commissioned by the FCA to obtain information on the size of the crypto market and identify potential damages. In reality, a first research was conducted as early as March 2019, but on a more limited sample. The 2020 research is presented as a quantitative follow-up research on a larger sample of cryptocurrency holders, and in particular of transferable but unregulated crypto assets, such as bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Ripple (XRP). 

The result was the estimated presence in the UK of about 2.6 million British people who at least once in their lifetime bought some cryptocurrencies or tokens, of which 1.9 million still own them. This represents 3.86% of the country’s adult population, a statistically significant increase from the 3% recorded last year. 

In addition, 75% of them hold cryptocurrencies worth at least £1,000, and 83% claim to have acquired them through foreign exchanges. 

Besides bitcoiners, the percentage of people who claim to have heard of cryptocurrencies at least once in their lives has also increased significantly, from 42% to 73%. In other words, almost three out of four respondents answered positively to this question. 

According to the FCA, the level of knowledge and understanding of potential risks is on average high among cryptocurrency holders, although there is still 11% who mistakenly believe that cryptocurrencies are covered by consumer protection measures. 

For example, the research has revealed that the most common reason why British people buy cryptocurrencies is to bet on a possible increase in their value, with full awareness of the risk and volatility.

Another interesting thing is the answers given to the question about the expected duration of cryptocurrency holdings in the portfolio. 

The most common answer was “I don’t know”, with 37% of the respondents, but in second place was “5 years or more”, with 32%. In third place, but quite distant, it was “3 or 4 years”, with 9% of the respondents. In total, only 15% replied that they did not want to hold them for more than 12 months. 

As such, it seems probable that only a small minority of these 1.9 million respondents are traders, while the vast majority could be holders.

 

Marco Cavicchioli
Marco Cavicchioli
Born in 1975, Marco has been the first to talk about Bitcoin on YouTube in Italy. He founded ilBitcoin.news and the Facebook group" Bitcoin Italia (open and without scam) ".
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