Bitcoin’s popularity is difficult to measure

One figure that sheds some light on Bitcoin’s popularity is the digital currency’s trading volume in over 50 countries worldwide in 2020. This list would suggest that Bitcoin is the most popular in the United States. Given Bitcoin’s premise, however – the blockchain technology behind the virtual currency which emphasizes privacy – it is difficult to estimate how big the cryptocurrency’s market size really is. Global user figures for Bitcoin are rare, with figures often based on domestic surveys that asked domestic consumers whether they used the currency for day-to-day purchases in 2017 or 2018 – the first time Bitcoin prices peaked. On the other hand, when looking countries where Bitcoin mining is the most prevalent it is not the United States, but China, that reveals itself as an important country for the currency’s creation process in 2020. There was also a notable number of blockchain startup investments in China that year: Ant Group reached around 22 billion U.S. dollars worth of funding.

Is Bitcoin going to take consumers by storm?

Statista’s Global Consumer Survey asked respondents in 11 different countries over the course of 2020 whether they are planning to get Bitcoin. From the U.S. consumers who wanted to acquire a financial product or investment in the next 12 months, roughly seven percent said they were looking into cryptocurrencies. This percentage – roughly six or seven percent of all respondents - was common for most countries. Two countries stood out, however: Australia’s future investments for consumers were mixed, with cryptocurrencies being the answer for nine percent of all respondents. The country most likely to explore Bitcoin was in southern Europe: Spain’s respondents placed cryptocurrencies as their third-most likely financial investment, behind a checking account and a credit card.

This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.