Cryptocurrency Statistics UK Edition [2024]

The realm of cryptocurrency is still under the veil of mystery for many. But this ought not to be the case. Cryptocurrency statistics UK show that in 2021 almost a fifth of people owned some. Why? For various reasons, some well thought through, others not as much. 

Looking for a good reason to delve into the field of cryptocurrency? Perhaps you’re still cautious about investing and want to settle your mind once and for all? 

No matter why you’re here, the cryptocurrency facts we’ve chosen will give you a broader perspective. Just to get the gist of it, check out these ten most interesting ones:

UK Cryptocurrency Usage Statistics 

When observing cryptocurrency growth, statistics send a clear message. About 1.5 million people in the UK owned some cryptocurrency in 2018, growing to an estimated 9.8 million by February of 2021. A six-fold increase in the number of cryptocurrency owners in three year’s time serves as a clear indicator of the high cryptocurrency adoption rate in the UK.

The cryptocurrency top-list is not a steady one. One riding high in April might be shot down in May. That’s life for cryptocurrency. Over a thousand have failed in 2019 only. Now, Bitcoin emerged first on the scene. Statistics regularly confirm it takes around half of the market share, and most markets evaluate other cryptocurrencies against it. We might as well deem it to be the best cryptocurrency, then.

In 2021, there were almost 230 ATMs for cryptocurrency in all of the UK. These were distributed quite unevenly, as 141 were in London. As for the rest of the UK, only two other cities had more than ten – Birmingham (23) and Manchester (13). Cardiff came in fourth with seven ATMs, followed by Leeds that had four.

While other contenders such as Binance and eToro saw a considerable increase in DAU between December of 2020 and January of 2021, San Francisco based Coinbase still holds a significant lead in cryptocurrency charts by DAU.

Cryptocurrency stats reveal that as of December of 2018, most people in the UK found out about cryptoassets through online news (23%) and traditional media (22%). 

Other most common sources of information were friends and family (16%), social media (15%) and online adverts (10%). Compared to this, people were least likely to be introduced to cryptoassets through traditional adverts (6%), by colleagues (5%) or in school or university (1%).

Cryptocurrency Market in the UK

This means that 5% of the United Kingdom’s total population currently owns crypto. An average cryptocurrency owner in the UK is a man over the age of 35.

As one FCA’s cryptoasset consumer research revealed in 2020, around half of 315 cryptocurrency owners surveyed had less than £260 in cryptocurrencies, 5% had £7,000 or more, and 1% had more than £22,588.

In practice, this means that 60% of cryptocurrency owners don’t hold assets in their possession. Instead, what the individual possesses in these instances may be a right of enforcement against an exchange, which is governed by the terms and conditions of the exchange in question. Note that most of the exchanges are located outside the UK.

A volatile cryptocurrency is one whose value goes up and down aggressively within a short period, by 10% to 20% of its average value, if not more. 

This type of cryptocurrency will be on the daily trader’s radar since significant changes in its value quickly occur, allowing for more frequent trading gains. One important thing to remember – just as easily as its value surges, it can suffer a precipitous drop.

So, how many cryptocurrencies can be considered volatile? In February of 2020, for example, the ratio between the values of cryptocurrencies Tron, Steen and Bitshare to Bitcoin value has risen and dropped by more than 50%, sometimes in less than a week.

23% of people who either own or intend to buy cryptocurrency believe it will be a go-to mode of transaction in the coming times.

21% of people saw savings accounts’ interest rates being too low or the accessibility of cryptocurrency through dedicated investing platforms as a reason to buy it.

20% bought cryptocurrency after considering its potential to make money. The same percentage of people wanted to get involved with cryptocurrency as more and more have.

Close to one fifth (19%) of people bought or want to buy cryptocurrency because they see it as an easy way to make money. 16% wanted to get in after hearing influential people talking about cryptocurrency.

Most of the 495 businesses that offered in-store payment in cryptocurrency or had a cryptocurrency ATM were in consumer electronics (44) and IT services (39). Who followed? Quick service and casual dining restaurants (29), cryptocurrency services and media (18), cafes and coffee shops (16).

Out of five trading platforms used in the United Kingdom for buying Bitcoin, Coinbase was the most popular one. More than six out of ten respondents stated they used this US-based platform for trading crypto.

After being asked, in October of 2019, what technologies they expect will significantly change in the decade ahead of us, many in the UK’s IT community put voice and real-time translation (89%) and artificial intelligence or augmenting software (88%)  first in line to experience great advancements. 52% expected substantial development in the field of blockchain technology.

UK Cryptocurrency Demographics 

This demonstrates that the majority of cryptocurrency owners are young, tech-savvy, and affluent Britons. Only 4% of cryptocurrency owners in the UK are 55 and above.

Observing blockchain statistics in light of gender differences gives an interesting perspective. Cryptocurrency figures for October of 2020 show 27.6% of men older than 18 own a cryptocurrency, in contrast to 17.1% of women.

As seen in the Financial Conduct Authority’s cryptoasset consumer research, the income distribution among cryptocurrency owners follows no apparent pattern. Most owners (16%) had an annual income of £20,000 – £29,999, and least (5%) earned £0 – £9,999. Of the 515 people surveyed, 9% had an annual income over £100,000.

Public awareness and estimated crypto ownership were up to around 2.3 million in 2021, up from around 1.9 million in 2020.

Wrap Up

The number of people owning cryptocurrency is steadily increasing, the network of crypto ATMs slowly expanding to the periphery of the United Kingdom, and the number of businesses that accept Bitcoin payment is on the rise. With all this going on, one needs to be quite indifferent to noticeable changes in his or her world to dismiss the cryptocurrency universe as a mere technological fad. 

Looking for reasons to be cautious is a good mode of thinking, one that gives a sharp edge to those who employ it through constant acknowledgement of critical thoughts, one’s own or those of experts, friends and family. Still, worth remembering is the factor that will play a crucial role in establishing any trend – the popularity factor. It’s what, among other factors, made so many people switch from MySpace to Facebook, then venture into Instagram, start taking TikTok into account soon after, and now hoping for a chance to join Clubhouse. 

What cryptocurrency statistics UK tell us is that, regardless of our understanding of the underlying technology, be it revolutionary or not, the value of Bitcoin, Etherium, Ripple and others depends mainly on the number of people who believe in it and how firmly they do so.