Crypto assets in Austria: robust evidence from HFCS wave 5 on ownership, motives and portfolio implications

Using the 2023 Austrian Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS), which featured a dedicated crypto asset module, we provide the first probabilistic, nationally representative estimates of Austrian households’ crypto asset ownership in a balance sheet context. Weighted results show that 3.9% of Austrian households (i.e. about 161,000) hold crypto assets. Crypto asset ownership is concentrated among younger (8% under 30), male (5.4% vs. 2.9% female), highly educated (7.6% vs. 0.3% less well educated), self-employed (13.3%) and urban holders. Most households entered the crypto asset market during 2019–2021, with a peak in 2020, and 75% acquired crypto assets via crypto exchanges. Bitcoin is held by about 80% and ether by roughly 40% of crypto-owning households. Median holdings are EUR 3,000, rising to EUR 20,000 at the 95th percentile; in most cases, crypto assets account for less than 20% of households’ financial assets. The most frequently cited motivations are investment and/or speculation (40%), curiosity (24%) and trend participation (16%). Hardly any crypto asset holders intend or expect to use crypto assets to make payments. Portfolio analysis shows that crypto assets complement traditional risky assets, raising risky asset participation from 16.6% to 39.0% among holders and constituting the main risky exposure for many lower-wealth households. We also relate our results to other sources, including data on customers of crypto intermediaries and on taxable revenue, which offer complementary perspectives without allowing for direct empirical alignment.