New research reveals 10% of adults in the UK claim to currently own cryptocurrencies, while a further 7% say they have owned them in the past but no longer do.

UK based money app Ziglu, created by Mark Hipperson, one of the founders of Starling Bank, commissioned the independent research company Consumer Intelligence to interview a representative sample of 1,011 adults aged 18-plus between 16th and 18th April 2021.

Of those people who currently own cryptocurrencies, 39% said they first bought them in the past 12 months, and a further 16% said they did so around a year ago. One in three (34%) said they first bought cryptocurrencies between two and five years ago.

The findings further revealed 74% of cryptocurrency owners are men, and 46% are aged 34 and under. One in four people aged 35 to 44 said they own cryptocurrency, compared to just 2% of those who are 65 and over.

 

Amount people have spent buying cryptocurrencies

Percentage of people who own cryptocurrencies who spent this amount buying them

Up to £100

24%

Between £100 and £300

13%

Between £301 and £500

15%

Between £501 and £1,000

19%

Between £1,001 and £3,000

8%

Between £3001 and £5,000

8%

Between £5,001 and £10,000

2%

Between £10,001 and £20,000

3%

Between £20,001 and £30,000

2%

Don't know

4%

Mark Hipperson, founder and CEO of Ziglu said: "Our research shows that cryptocurrencies are becoming increasingly mainstream - especially amongst younger people. Coronavirus has accelerated growth in the retail cryptocurrency market by at least five years with people spending more time at home and wanting to learn more about it safely. We are seeing huge growth in the number of new clients wanting safe and simple access to crypto."

 

Age group

Percentage of age group that owns cryptocurrency

18 - 24

15%

25 - 34

16%

35 - 44

26%

45 - 54

10%

55 - 64

2%

65

2%