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Bitcoin Awareness and Usage in Canada

Author

Listed:
  • Christopher S. Henry

    (CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne)

Abstract

There has been tremendous discussion of Bitcoin, digitalcurrencies and FinTech. However, there is limited empirical evidence of Bitcoin'sadoption and usage. We propose a methodology to collect a nationally representative sample usingthe Bitcoin Omnibus Survey (BTCOS) to track the ubiquityand usage of Bitcoin in Canada. We find that about 64 percent of Canadians have heard of Bitcoin, but only 2.9 percent own it. We also find that 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, Bitcoinownership is associated with younger age groups and a high-school education. Furthermore, we construct a test of Bitcoin characteristics to gauge the level of knowledge held by respondents who were aware of Bitcoin, including actual owners. We find that knowledge is positively correlated withBitcoin adoption. We attempt to reconcile the difference in awareness and ownership by decomposing the transactionaland store-of-value motivesfor holding Bitcoin. Finally, we conclude with some suggestionsto improve future surveys on digital currency, in particular, to achieve precise estimates from the hard-to-reach population of digital currency users.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher S. Henry, 2017. "Bitcoin Awareness and Usage in Canada," Working Papers hal-03182314, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03182314
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    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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