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Bitcoin adoption in the UK

_{How many people own or are using bitcoin in the UK?}

Bitcoin adoption in the UK

_{How many people own or are using Bitcoin in the UK?}

_{This is a very difficult question to answer. In fact, it is all but impossible to pin down exactly how many people are using bitcoin in any given jurisdiction for the simple fact that authorities and cryptocurrency exchanges only produce adoption figures for cryptocurrencies as a whole and rarely for bitcoin alone. That said, bitcoin accounts for roughly 60% of the total value stored across all cryptocurrencies, which allows us to make approximations and best guesses. Public surveys also help to shed light on adoption trends.}

^{Market cap of bitcoin vs. all other cryptocurrencies}
_{^{Source: Statista: Bitcoin and ethereum dominance of cryptomarkets as of June 21, 2024}}

^{12 month bitcoin dominance chart: Bitcoin is becoming a larger share of the total cryptocurrency market over time}_{^{Source: TradingView – Market Cap BTC Dominance Chart}}

_{What information that}_is_{available suggests that UK individuals are at the forefront of bitcoin adoption and use in Western Europe while London is fast becoming a key hub for bitcoin transactions and developments.}

_{As of 2024, around 13% of Brits – equivalent to approximately 7 million adults – had invested in cryptocurrencies, according to a report by Finder Canada, a personal finance comparison site. Of those, approximately 3.9 million people, own bitcoin}_[iv].

_{The UK is the most prominent crypto economy in Central, Northern and Western Europe (CNWE), according to a study released in late 2024 by the blockchain analytics firm Chainanalysis}_[v]_{. On a scale from zero to one, the index shows where people are putting the greatest share of their wealth into cryptocurrency. The UK scored 0.215 overall, placing it ahead of Germany in second (0.110) and France in third (0.106). It also ranked third in the world in terms of transaction volumes after the United States and India in Chainanalysis’ 2023 index, with an estimated $252 billion in cryptocurrency transaction volume over a one-year period.}

Bitcoin adoption in the UK

_{Cryptocurrency transaction volumes}
_{^{Source: Chainanalysis, Central, Northern, and Western Europe: Crypto Adoption Trends}}

_{Other studies appear to confirm this trend. In February 2024, for example, the crypto tax platform Recap identified London as the world’s most crypto-ready city for business, beating off competition from Dubai and New York}_[vi]._{A growing number of merchants in the capital and beyond are willing to accept}_bitcoin_{as payment as the emergence of fintech start-ups like Bitrefill, Musqet and Bridge 2 Bitcoin make it both easier and cheaper for consumers and retailers to use bitcoin on the British high street.}

_{One of the main drivers of this trend is the UK’s gradual adoption of regulations targeting crypto and stablecoins}₍_{more detail in Section 10}₎_{. The government has unveiled plans to establish the UK as a crypto asset hub, including a proposal to make stablecoins a viable payment method.}

_{Map showing merchants’ bitcoin acceptance in UK}
_{^{Source: BTCmap.org}}

_{In the UK, as in most countries around the world, there are sharp generational and gender disparities in bitcoin adoption and usage.}

_{A survey published by Statista showed that UK men were three times more likely to own crypto than their female counterparts as of November 2022.}

_{The survey also revealed a glaring generational gap when it comes to crypto ownership, with 18 to 34 year olds accounting for 58% of crypto owners, 35 to 54 year olds, 32%, and 55 year olds and older, a mere 10%}_[_vii_].

_{Though there are many positives to read of in the UK, the retail ETF ban makes it almost impossible for retail investors to hold the asset in an ISA (individual savings account) or SIPP (self invested personal pension). These wrappers are core tools of good financial planning.}

_{This current position of the FCA pushes anyone who wishes to gain exposure to the asset to the fringes of the regulatory landscape and onto platforms and exchanges which are usually not covered by the FSCS protection.}

Bitcoin adoption in the UK

_{The UK may be leading the way on bitcoin adoption in Western Europe, but compared to the rest of the world, particularly parts of the so-called ‘Global South’, it is lagging. When it comes to grassroots crypto – and by extension,}_bitcoin_{– adoption, Eastern Europe is well ahead of Central, Northern and Western Europe. But it is the Global South that is ultimately leading the charge. India tops grassroots crypto adoption worldwide, taking the maximum score on the 2024 Chainalysis index (1), followed by Nigeria (0.693) and Indonesia (0.680) in second and third place respectively.}

_{Generational and gender disparities}
_{^{Source: Triple-A Report}}

_{Comparison of crypto adoption rates (UK vs global)}
_{^{Source: Chainanalysis}}

_{People living outside the US and Europe are much more likely to own cryptocurrency in 2023, according to Statista's Global Consumer Survey. This, Statista notes, is corroborated by Google searches for the term ‘bitcoin’ by country, with searches occurring the most in Africa and Latin America. This is hardly surprising given that these are the regions of the world that have suffered the worst currency devaluations and inflationary crises over the past three years. It is perhaps no wonder that many of their citizens are looking for better ways to protect their hard-earned money.}_[_{For more detail on global adoption trends, see Section}_11].