With most tokens such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) setting new all-time highs and the soaring crypto adoption rate last year, 2021 has been described as a banner year for cryptocurrency. While the rate of adoption is expected to slow down a bit this year, the number of crypto owners in the U.S. is still expected to rise significantly and reach 33.7 million in 2022.
The number of American crypto investors has risen explosively in recent years. From 9.6 million in 2019, the number of owners of digital currency in the U.S. rose by 58.8 percent to 15.3 million in 2020 and even rose higher by 85.4 percent to 28.3 million in 2021, according to a study by Insider Intelligence.
Crypto adoption in America is expected to continue to rise this year, though at a much slower pace. The number of U.S. crypto owners is expected to reach 33.7 million by the end of 2022 or an increase of 19 percent. This means that 12.8 percent of the American population will own some digital currency by the end of this year.
By 2023, the research team projects U.S. digital currency owners to rise by 10.6 percent to 37.2 million. At this point, 14 percent of Americans will own some type of crypto.
The report also expects younger investors to continue to take the lead in terms of crypto ownership this year. Leading the pack are 11.2 million Americans in the 25-34 age group who are expected to own crypto by the end of 2022, followed by the 35-44 age group with 9.7 million crypto owners, the 45-54 age group with 4.7 million, and the 18-24 age range with 3.9 million digital currency owners.
Meanwhile, only 2.4 million Americans in the 55-64 age range will invest in crypto. For Americans 65 years old and above, only 1.7 million are expected to own crypto by the end of 2022.
“Younger investors have a genuine positive outlook on blockchain technology and are buying crypto to hold for a while, expecting prices to continue increasing in the long run,” Insider Intelligence forecasting analyst Nazmul Islam said. “Older investors will be more risk-averse and leery of the volatile crypto market. Although, they are increasingly starting to invest in crypto as more retirement funds offer it as an option.”
Bitcoin (BTC) will continue to remain the most popular crypto for U.S. investors as the study expects 25.2 million Americans to own the token this year. Meanwhile, 13.1 million American investors are expected to own Ether (ETH), the native crypto of the Ethereum blockchain.
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