Survey shows Canadians’ rising disillusionment with cryptocurrencies

The share of Canadians who regret their cryptocurrency investments rose over the year from 68% to 77%, according to a survey by the Ontario Securities Commission.

OSC survey follows up on Canadians’ crypto asset knowledge: https://t.co/34pwzX7M8k pic.twitter.com/XJ3jgUfBGb

— OSC News (@OSC_News) November 29, 2023

The regulator conducted the study in partnership with Ipsos in May–June on a representative sample of 2,360 residents.

Overall, about 10% of respondents reported owning digital assets, down from 13% in the results of the 2022 survey. Back then, 46% of investors said their portfolios were worth more than their initial investments; today, 39% of participants have confirmed this.

During this period, the share of Canadians who believe cryptocurrencies play a central role in the financial ecosystem fell from 38% to 26%. The possibility that this would happen in the future was conceded by 34%, though a year ago the figure had reached 49%.

Only 20% of respondents said they planned to buy cryptocurrencies in the future, down from 31%.

As the main reason for acquiring digital assets, 28% cited speculative investments. That figure was unchanged year on year, while the share viewing cryptocurrencies as long-term investments fell from 29% to 20%.

The survey showed that Canadians’ awareness of crypto assets rose — 54% vs 51% previously said they had basic knowledge. Against this backdrop, the share of respondents who cited insufficient understanding of digital currencies as a reason for not investing fell from 49% to 46%. But the number of those who are not prepared to do so because of potential risks rose from 43% to 49%.

As reported in a US survey, two-thirds of Americans expressed distrust of cryptocurrencies.