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Who uses cryptocurrency?
Why do people use cryptocurrencies?
Cryptocurrency is often used as an investment: In 2023, 7% of U.S. adults bought or held cryptocurrency as an investment, 1% used it to pay for something, and another 1% used it to send money to friends or family.
Among those people, 29% said they used cryptocurrency because it was preferred by the other party in a transaction. Other reasons for trading cryptocurrency included transfer speed (18%), privacy (16%), lower transaction costs (13%), security (7%), and lack of trust in banks (4%).
Who uses cryptocurrency?
Men are nearly three times more likely to use cryptocurrency: 11% of men used cryptocurrency in 2023 compared to 4% of women.
Usage also varied by income level. High-income (household income of $100,000 or more) and low-income ($25,000 or less) people used cryptocurrency more often than people in middle-income brackets. Low-income Americans had the highest share of people using cryptocurrency for transactions (4%), while cryptocurrency investments were more common among high-income Americans (8%).