We know there are 2,000+ cryptocurrencies in the world today – but how many people actually own those cryptocurrencies?

Our friends at CryptoNinjas decided to try to answer that question. Their recent research provides valuable insight into the crypto industry, including the gender of crypto owners, the number of people who plan on purchasing crypto in the future, and the reasons people buy cryptocurrencies.

The Methodology

CryptoNinjas worked with Dalia Research in March 2018 to collect information from the study.

The company surveyed a total of 29,492 people in the United States, the UK, Germany, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, China, and India. The information was collected online, so the survey is intended to be representative of the online population of these countries – not the total population both online and offline.

Dalia used a Multilevel Regression Poststratification (MRP) model to ensure census representative results. They used the Logistic Regression algorithm to make cell-wise predictions. Other information about the methodology used in the study can be found on cryptoninjas.net.

The Results

The survey revealed a number of interesting results from across the cryptocurrency industry.

South Koreans are particularly informed about cryptocurrencies, for example, which isn’t very surprising. What may be surprising, however, is how many people are aware of cryptocurrencies in a country like India. The study revealed that 63% of Indians have heard about cryptocurrencies. Considering that India’s literacy rate is just 74%, that seems significant (although it’s important to remember that the survey studied just the online population).

The study also revealed that 9% of Americans – or approximately 1 in 10 – own at least some crypto.

Here are other findings from the study:

3 in 4 People Have Heard About Cryptocurrencies

On average, 74% of people worldwide have heard about cryptocurrencies. The results were highest in South Korea, where 87% of people had heard about cryptocurrencies. They were lowest in Brazil, where just 61% of the population had heard about cryptocurrencies. In the United States, 74% of people were aware of cryptocurrencies.

Approximately Half of Internet Users Reported Having “Total Knowledge” About Cryptocurrencies

One of the most surprising parts of the study was the part related to cryptocurrency knowledge. 49% of respondents claim to have “total knowledge” regarding cryptocurrencies. Considering that’s just 25% lower than the people who have heard about cryptocurrencies at all, that seems surprising.

In any case, 61% and 60% of the online populations of Japan and South Korea, respectively, considered themselves to be knowledgeable about cryptocurrencies.

4% of Non-Crypto Users Plan to Buy Cryptocurrencies

Out of the total population of non-crypto-users, 4% plan to buy cryptocurrencies at some point in the future. Interestingly, South Korea – which has the most informed population when it comes to general cryptocurrency knowledge – had the lowest ranking. Just 2% of South Koreans who didn’t hold cryptocurrencies were interested in buying crypto in the future, compared to 6% in India.

Nearly 1 in 10 Japanese People Own Cryptocurrencies

How many people own cryptocurrency? The answer varies widely between countries. Of 30,000 respondents in the latest study, 7%, on average, owned at least some amount of cryptocurrencies.

Japanese people were the most likely to own cryptocurrencies: 11% of Japanese people, or over 1 in 10, reported owning at least some crypto. Numbers were similar in the United States, where 9% of respondents reported owning some crypto.

There’s a Gender Gap – But It’s Not as Significant As You May Think

Many have pointed out an awkward problem in the crypto industry: the vast majority of crypto users are male. Some studies have pointed to rates as high as 95% male and 5% female. Forbes, for example, reported in December 2017 that only 5% to 7% of all cryptocurrency users are women.

In any case, this latest study approached it from a different angle. The study showed there’s still a gender gap, although it’s not quite as significant as you might think.

Across 30,000 respondents, 76% of males were aware of crypto, for example, compared to 72% of females. 54% of males reported having a total knowledge of cryptocurrencies compared to 43% of women. And 9% of males reported owning at least some cryptocurrency compared to 5% of females.

Higher Education Leads to Higher Crypto Ownership

More educated people tended to own more crypto than less education people. 12% of respondents with a high level of education, for example, reported owning some crypto, compared to just 4% of respondents with low education.

There was a similar difference when it came to reporting “total knowledge” of cryptocurrencies. 67% of high education individuals reported total knowledge of cryptocurrencies compared to 33% of lower education respondents.

Conclusion

Ultimately, this latest study sheds light on the adoption of cryptocurrencies worldwide by gender, education, and other factors. Big ups to CryptoNinjas and Dalia's unique survey for piecing this together! It was so great learning about how many people use and own cryptocurrencies so far – we just had to review it – and expect in a year's time or even end of the calendar year – these numbers will do nothing but continue to climb the charts.