Are more Americans really adopting crypto? Two recent surveys paint a contrasted picture: cumulative experience is rising, but direct ownership is falling and trust in platforms remains weak. This analysis breaks down the numbers, their limits and the regulatory backdrop that still weighs on the sector.
🔑 Key Takeaways
- 22% of US adults have owned or used crypto at some point, up from 18% a year earlier, yet 12-month usage is flat at 13%.
- Gallup finds direct ownership among adults fell from 14% to 9%, with the steepest drop among 18-29 year olds (18% to 8%).
- Only 4% of respondents have high trust in centralized exchanges such as Coinbase or Kraken.
- 79% of crypto users know their activity is taxable, but only 49% know that crypto is taxable at every sale.
- Bitcoin rose roughly 46% from about $59,000 during the Gallup fieldwork period to about $86,160 on September 23.
Cumulative Experience Rises, Recent Usage Stalls
The Ipsos survey, published October 27, describes adoption in two stages. 22% of US adults have owned or used cryptocurrencies, up from 18% a year earlier, but only 13% used them in the past twelve months, a share that did not change. Among Americans who had not used crypto in the past year, 11% had owned or used it before, compared with 5% previously. A segment of users has therefore left the market, although Ipsos notes the survey cannot establish precisely why.
| Indicator (Ipsos) | Current value | One year earlier |
|---|---|---|
| Have owned or used crypto at some point | 22% | 18% |
| Used crypto in the past 12 months | 13% | 13% |
| Plan to own or use crypto in future | 17% | 16% |
| Former users who once owned crypto | 11% | 5% |
Motivations are revealing. Curiosity leads, cited by 34% of current or former holders, ahead of long-term investment (25%) and short-term speculation (18%). Purchase intentions are stable, with 17% of respondents expecting to hold or use crypto in future, versus 16% a year earlier.
Gallup and Population Estimates: Ownership Retreats
The Gallup survey, published September 21, interviewed 2,043 US adults from June 1 to 15, including 1,048 investors with more than $10,000 in investable assets, with a margin of error of four points. Among those investors, ownership dropped from 17% to 11%. Across all adults, it fell from 14% to 9%, though it remained above the 6% recorded in 2021 and the 2% of 2018.
Declines Concentrated Among Certain Groups
The decline hit some categories harder than others:
- Men aged 18 to 49: from 33% to 24% ownership.
- Adults aged 18 to 29: from 18% to 8%.
- Households earning under $48,000 a year: from 12% to 4%.
- Highest-income households: 15%.
In June, 66% of investors said they were not interested in crypto, up from 63% a year earlier. Meanwhile, 63% considered it very risky and 31% fairly risky. Among investors who already held crypto, 77% described it as very risky.
Estimates That Do Not Line Up
Estimates of the holding population diverge widely. River put the number of US bitcoin holders at 49.6 million in July, or 18.6% of adults. The Federal Reserve reports that 10% of adults used crypto in 2025, including 9% to invest and 2% to make payments. The Coinbase study cited above puts the range at 15% to 20%.
| Source | What is measured | Share of adults |
|---|---|---|
| River (July) | Bitcoin holders | 18.6% |
| Federal Reserve | Overall crypto use in 2025 | 10% |
| Gallup (June) | Crypto ownership | 9% |
| Coinbase study | Crypto users | 15% to 20% |
These figures are not directly comparable because they cover different periods, populations and questions. Gallup measures ownership, Ipsos measures twelve-month usage, the Fed measures overall use and River measures bitcoin holding.
Low Trust, Limited DeFi Awareness and Unclear Tax Rules
Americans are critical of their own financial system. Only 19% consider it safe, and 63% say it needs modernizing to address cyberattacks and threats linked to artificial intelligence. Crypto is not benefiting from this skepticism: 4% express high trust in centralized platforms such as Coinbase or Kraken, and 5% in decentralized platforms such as Uniswap. Major banks earn 42% trust, credit unions 48%.
Decentralized finance (DeFi, a set of financial services running on blockchains without intermediaries) remains little known. Only 2% of Americans say they know it very well, while 92% know little or nothing about it. Even so, 40% say they are at least somewhat willing to try it, mainly to save (85%), send money to relatives (82%) or earn interest (82%). A federal law imposing more obligations on crypto firms would lift that willingness only from 40% to 42%, while 13% say more accessible products would convince them. The poll, conducted September 8 to 16 among 1,545 adults with a margin of error of 2.8 points, was commissioned by the DeFi Education Fund, a lobbying group that favors decentralized finance, a sponsorship bias readers should keep in mind.
A Coinbase study of 3,000 crypto users, conducted between September and October 2025, points to a gap in tax knowledge. While 79% know their crypto activities are taxable, only 49% know that cryptocurrencies are taxed at each sale. Conversely, 21% wrongly believe that a transfer between crypto accounts is taxable, and 30% say they would be ready to use AI for their tax filing. The accompanying tax reminder lists as taxable the sale for fiat currency, purchases of goods or services, stablecoin payments and “gas” fees on Ethereum. It states that swapping between cryptocurrencies and simply holding assets without selling are not taxable. Detailed filing rules, however, depend on the French framework.
A Regulatory Precedent and a Market Rebound
A BBC article by Natalie Sherman, anchored in early 2023, offers a useful precedent. Andrew Durgee, chief executive of Republic’s crypto division, estimated that most of the crypto companies he had invested in three years earlier were based in the United States, compared with only one in ten that year. After the price collapse and the FTX bankruptcy, prosecutors had accused its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, of carrying out “one of the biggest financial frauds” in US history.
« Regulatory uncertainty makes investing in the US riskier. »
Andrew Durgee, CEO of the crypto division at Republic
Bitcoin, which accounted for most of the sector’s value, was then treated by authorities as a commodity, like gold, and was largely spared from the debate over securities status. Oversight focused on token issuers and exchanges that hold customer funds and run activities distinct from traditional finance. In the same period, the SEC filed actions against Coinbase and Binance. SEC Chair Gary Gensler defended these moves by comparing the industry to the 1920s:
« Charlatans, scammers, fraudsters, Ponzi schemes…. The public is lining up at the bankruptcy court. »
Gary Gensler, Chair of the SEC
The market fallout was severe. Clients had pulled billions of dollars, US banks had restricted transactions with Binance, forcing it to stop accepting dollars, and Robinhood delisted certain assets, citing the “cloud of uncertainty” around tokens. Crypto’s market value had fallen to about a third of its peak, trading volumes had dropped, developer interest was waning, and the March failure of several of the few traditional banks serving the sector delivered another blow.
Hilary Allen, a law professor at American University, argues that crypto is inherently vulnerable to boom-and-bust cycles and insider manipulation, and should be banned. Bart Stephens, managing partner at Blockchain Capital, was more optimistic about the long run but expected the sector might develop abroad, since the US was seen as less welcoming than the United Kingdom or the European Union. His firm had invested more in the first three months of 2023 than in any other quarter of the previous decade.
On-chain indicators told a more mixed story. Bitcoin was hovering near its 2020 levels after a strong year-to-date gain, ether had also risen, and active addresses and running smart contracts were increasing. Gina Pieters, a cryptocurrency specialist and lecturer at the University of Chicago, summed up the stakes:
« It would be a mistake to think the US can kill the industry. But it can very much shrink the size of the crypto sector. »
Gina Pieters, cryptocurrency specialist, University of Chicago
More recently, bitcoin has rebounded sharply despite the decline in ownership measured by Gallup. It traded near $59,000 during the survey period and reached about $86,160 on September 23, a gain close to 46%. Morgan Stanley has also identified six signals suggesting the crypto bear market may be nearing its end.
Outlook: Fragile Adoption, Decisive Regulation
The data points to a nuanced conclusion: crypto experience is spreading, but durable engagement remains fragile. Ownership is falling among young adults and lower-income households, trust in platforms is low, and tax rules are poorly understood. Bitcoin’s rebound could bring users back, but without regulatory clarity and better information, it risks benefiting mainly already well-informed investors.
Three scenarios stand out. In the first, regulatory clarity and more accessible products convert curiosity into regular use. In the second, ownership stagnates between 9% and 13% of adults. In the third, tougher rules or a new confidence crisis shrink the user base further. Upcoming surveys and decisions from Congress and the courts will be decisive.
Sources
- Cryptoast: Ipsos survey on US crypto adoption
- Reference source (Google redirect link)
- BBC: Natalie Sherman article on US crypto regulation
- Podcast: Cryptos, more and more Americans are trying them
- TradingView (Cointribune): crypto survey coverage
- BFM Crypto: Coinbase study on crypto taxation
Cet article est publié à titre informatif et éducatif. Il ne constitue en aucun cas un conseil en investissement. Faites vos propres recherches (DYOR) avant toute décision.
