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Bitcoin awareness and usage in Canada

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  • Gradon Nicholls

    (Bank of Canada)

Abstract

There has been a tremendous discussion of Bitcoin, digital currencies, and fintech. However, there is limited empirical evidence of its adoption and usage. We propose a methodology to collect a nationally representative sample via the Bitcoin Omnibus Survey (BTCOS) to track the ubiquity and usage of Bitcoin in Canada. We find that about 64 percent of Canadians have heard of Bitcoin, but only 4 percent own it. We find that awareness of Bitcoin was strongly associated with men and those with college or university education; additionally, Bitcoin awareness was also more concentrated among unemployed individuals. On the other hand, Bitcoin ownership was associated with younger age groups and a high school education. Furthermore, we construct a test of Bitcoin characteristics to gauge the level of perceived versus actual knowledge held by respondents. We find that knowledge is positively correlated with Bitcoin adoption. Based on the survey response and data, we offer suggestions to improve future digital currency surveys, in particular, to achieve precise estimates from the hard-to-reach population of digital currency users using social network analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Gradon Nicholls, 2017. "Bitcoin awareness and usage in Canada," Canadian Stata Users' Group Meetings 2017 08, Stata Users Group.
    • Handle: RePEc:boc:csug17:08
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. Christopher Henry & Kim Huynh & Gradon Nicholls & Mitchell Nicholson, 2019. "2018 Bitcoin Omnibus Survey: Awareness and Usage," Discussion Papers 2019-10, Bank of Canada.
    5. Walter Engert & Ben Fung & Scott Hendry, 2018. "Is a Cashless Society Problematic?," Discussion Papers 18-12, Bank of Canada.
    6. 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.
    7. 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).
    8. 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.
    9. Walter Engert & Ben Fung, 2017. "Central Bank Digital Currency: Motivations and Implications," Discussion Papers 17-16, Bank of Canada.
    10. Christopher Henry & Kim Huynh & Gradon Nicholls, 2018. "Bitcoin Awareness and Usage in Canada: An Update," Staff Analytical Notes 2018-23, Bank of Canada.
    11. Lin William Cong & Xi Li & Ke Tang & Yang Yang, 2021. "Crypto Wash Trading," Papers 2108.10984, arXiv.org.
    12. 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.
    13. 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.
    14. 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.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E4 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates
    • C12 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Hypothesis Testing: General

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