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Bitcoin awareness and usage in Canada

Author

Listed:
  • Henry, Christopher S.
  • Huynh, Kim P.
  • Nicholls, Gradon

Abstract

Bitcoin, digital currencies and FinTech have been the subject of vigorous discussion. There has, however, been limited empirical evidence of its adoption and usage. This paper proposes a methodology to collect a nationally representative sample via the Bitcoin Omnibus Survey (BTCOS) in order to track the ubiquity and usage of Bitcoin in Canada. The paper reveals that about 64 per cent of Canadians have heard of Bitcoin, but only 2.9 per cent own it. Awareness of Bitcoin is strongly associated with men, and those with college or university education; additionally, Bitcoin awareness is more concentrated among unemployed individuals. On the other hand, Bitcoin ownership is associated with younger age groups and a high school education. Furthermore, the current authors have constructed a test of Bitcoin characteristics to attempt to gauge the level of knowledge held by respondents who were aware of Bitcoin, including actual owners. Knowledge is positively correlated with Bitcoin adoption. This paper attempts to reconcile the difference in awareness and ownership by deconstructing the transaction and store-of-value motive for holding Bitcoin. The paper concludes with some suggestions to improve future digital currency surveys, in particular to achieve precise estimates from the hard-to-reach population of digital currency users.

Suggested Citation

  • Henry, Christopher S. & Huynh, Kim P. & Nicholls, Gradon, 2018. "Bitcoin awareness and usage in Canada," Journal of Digital Banking, Henry Stewart Publications, vol. 2(4), pages 311-337, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aza:jdb000:y:2018:v:2:i:4:p:311-337
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    Cited by:

    1. Christopher Henry & Kim Huynh & Gradon Nicholls, 2018. "Bitcoin Awareness and Usage in Canada: An Update," Staff Analytical Notes 2018-23, Bank of Canada.
    2. Hanna Halaburda & Guillaume Haeringer & Joshua Gans & Neil Gandal, 2022. "The Microeconomics of Cryptocurrencies," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 60(3), pages 971-1013, September.
    3. Graf von Luckner, Clemens & Reinhart, Carmen M. & Rogoff, Kenneth, 2023. "Decrypting new age international capital flows," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 104-122.
    4. Daniela Balutel & Christopher Henry & Jorge Vásquez & Marcel Voia, 2022. "Bitcoin adoption and beliefs in Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(4), pages 1729-1761, November.
    5. Walter Engert & Ben Fung & Scott Hendry, 2018. "Is a Cashless Society Problematic?," Discussion Papers 18-12, Bank of Canada.
    6. Daniela Balutel & Christopher Henry & Doina Rusu, 2023. "Cryptoasset Ownership and Use in Canada: An Update for 2022," Discussion Papers 2023-14, Bank of Canada.
    7. Magazzino, Cosimo & Gattone, Tulia & Horky, Florian, 2025. "Economic and financial development as determinants of crypto adoption," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    8. Lin William Cong & Xi Li & Ke Tang & Yang Yang, 2023. "Crypto Wash Trading," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(11), pages 6427-6454, November.
    9. Juneman Abraham & Dian Utami Sutiksno & Nuning Kurniasih & Ari Warokka, 2019. "Acceptance and Penetration of Bitcoin: The Role of Psychological Distance and National Culture," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(3), pages 21582440198, July.
    10. Christopher Henry & Kim Huynh & Gradon Nicholls & Mitchell Nicholson, 2019. "2018 Bitcoin Omnibus Survey: Awareness and Usage," Discussion Papers 2019-10, Bank of Canada.
    11. Zamora-Pérez, Alejandro, 2026. "Who owns crypto in the euro area? Drivers of crypto adoption, payment use, and its interaction with fiat cash," Working Paper Series 3215, European Central Bank.
    12. Bank for International Settlements, 2024. "Literature review on financial technology and competition for banking services," BCBS Working Papers 43, Bank for International Settlements.
    13. Nils Brouwer & Jakob de Haan, 2024. "What Drives Households’ Knowledge about Cryptocurrencies?," Working Papers 799, DNB.
    14. Yuquan Li & Yuexin Xiang & Qin Wang & Tsz Hon Yuen & Andreas Deppeler & Jiangshan Yu, 2025. "SoK: Stablecoins in Retail Payments," Papers 2601.00196, arXiv.org.
    15. Balietti, Stefano & Celebi, Can & Tercero-Lucas, David, 2025. "From crypto to NFTs: Identifying the new wave of digital investors," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 104(PA).
    16. Walter Engert & Ben Fung, 2017. "Central Bank Digital Currency: Motivations and Implications," Discussion Papers 17-16, Bank of Canada.
    17. Sejung Park & Han Woo Park, 2020. "Diffusion of cryptocurrencies: web traffic and social network attributes as indicators of cryptocurrency performance," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 297-314, February.
    18. Auer, Raphael & Tercero-Lucas, David, 2022. "Distrust or speculation? The socioeconomic drivers of U.S. cryptocurrency investments," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    19. Chunling Li & Nosherwan Khaliq & Leslie Chinove & Usama Khaliq & József Popp & Judit Oláh, 2023. "Cryptocurrency Acceptance Model to Analyze Consumers’ Usage Intention: Evidence From Pakistan," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440231, March.
    20. Yongzhi Gong & Xiaofei Tang & En-Chung Chang, 2023. "Group norms and policy norms trigger different autonomous motivations for Chinese investors in cryptocurrency investment," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    21. Fujiki, Hiroshi, 2020. "Who adopts crypto assets in Japan? Evidence from the 2019 financial literacy survey," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    22. Doris Ritzberger-Grünwald & Helmut Stix, 2018. "How Austrians bank and pay in an increasingly digitalized world – results from an OeNB survey," Monetary Policy & the Economy, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue Q3/18, pages 52-89.
    23. Raphael Warren Jankeeparsad & Dev Tewari, 2018. "End-User Adoption of Bitcoin in South Africa," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 10(5), pages 230-243.
    24. Anil Savio Kavuri & Alistair Milne, 2019. "Fintech and the Future of Financial Services: What Are the Research Gaps?," CAMA Working Papers 2019-18, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • G2 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services
    • E5 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit

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