Males under 50 bolstering American cryptocurrency market

The latest Pew Research Center report on cryptocurrencies in the United States, published on April 10, reveals few surprises regarding the nation’s adoption of and confidence in the burgeoning cryptocurrency market.

75% of U.S. adults who have heard of cryptocurrency have little or no confidence in its safety and reliability, according to a Pew study.

That statistic may not express the actual sentiment of the average cryptocurrency investor, however, as adoption rates vary wildly by age and gender, with men ages 18 to 50 providing the bulk of U.S. cryptocurrency market activity.

The survey featured numerous questions relating to U.S. cryptocurrency sentiment across age, race, and gender demographics (the study’s methodology points out that certain minority groups were oversampled to reflect correct population proportions), with responses gathered from 10,071 study participants.

Those identifying as women and study participants over 50 expressed the weakest sentiment, with only 10% and 8% of either demographic having purchased at least some cryptocurrency. By contrast, about one in four U.S. adult men has invested in at least one.

Also of note, cryptocurrency use in the U.S. continues to differ by race. Per the report, “Some 24% of Asian adults and 21% of Black or Hispanic adults say they have ever invested in or used a cryptocurrency, compared with 14% of White adults.”

Other areas meriting mention— and perhaps concern—include the fact that, juxtaposed against previous Pew Center research, U.S. cryptocurrency adoption rates appear to be stalling out, with only 16% of participants claiming to have tried crypto for the first time in the last year and only a single percentage increase in total adoption between 2021 and 2023.

On the bright side, the study indicates that around two-thirds of all U.S. adults who’ve invested in cryptocurrency continue to hold at least some.