Despite market downturn, US sees 44% increase in retail crypto investors
According to a Crypto Pulse survey of 28,000 institutional and retail investors in 23 countries, the crypto winter did not undermine American interest and confidence in the crypto sector.
The survey was an initiative of London-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp.
In the US, 61% of retail respondents said they invested in cryptocurrencies in Q2 2022. That’s a 44% increase from just 42% who invested in cryptocurrencies in Q1, according to the survey. Confidence in domestic cryptocurrencies also jumped from 61% in Q1 2022 to 73% in Q2.
Meanwhile, in Canada, trust in crypto fell below 50% in the second quarter, according to a study. Trust in cryptocurrencies remains high in South America, with 77% in Brazil, 69% in Chile and 70% in Mexico.
However, despite a surge in retail investors jumping into cryptocurrencies and a high level of confidence, respondents in the US and Canada still feel the need for education on cryptocurrencies and blockchain. According to the survey, 44% of US and Canadian retail respondents said they do not know enough to start investing in cryptocurrencies.
Despite the crypto market downturn, institutional interest in crypto remains high as well. In the US, 69% of institutions surveyed recommend cryptocurrencies to their clients, compared to 78% in Mexico. The study found that 72% and 71% of institutions in Brazil and Argentina, respectively, endorse cryptocurrencies.
However, there has been a slight decline in trust in cryptocurrencies among institutional and individual investors globally. The share of retail investors who consider cryptocurrencies trustworthy dropped from 67% in Q1 to 65% in Q2, while the share of institutional investors fell from 70% to 67% in Q2. did.
Nonetheless, the number of individual respondents investing in cryptocurrencies or trading daily or weekly increased globally from 56% in Q1 to 60% in Q2. Additionally, a quarter of institutions plan to make cryptocurrencies their primary source of investment, according to the survey.
Europe
Across Europe, the percentage of retail investors trusting cryptocurrencies dropped from 54% in Q1 2022 to 52% in Q2 2022, a study showed. Similar to the United States and Canada, Europeans also feel the need for cryptocurrency education. 21% of Europeans not currently investing in crypto say they don’t know enough to get started.
The survey shows a 7 percentage point increase in the number of retail investors investing in cryptocurrencies compared to the first quarter.
The number of retail investors calling for increased regulation increased from 23% to 26% in Q2 due to rising cryptocurrency fraud and the bankruptcy of a major crypto lender. On the contrary, institutional investors feel crypto regulation is gaining momentum, with only 23% saying regulation is lacking, compared to 31% in Q1.
Additionally, 31% of institutional investors said they would like to increase their investment in cryptocurrencies in Q1, compared to 28% in Q1.
