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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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    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. 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. 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).
    4. 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).
    5. 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.
    6. Christopher Henry & Kim Huynh & Gradon Nicholls & Mitchell Nicholson, 2019. "2018 Bitcoin Omnibus Survey: Awareness and Usage," Discussion Papers 2019-10, Bank of Canada.
    7. Walter Engert & Ben Fung & Scott Hendry, 2018. "Is a Cashless Society Problematic?," Discussion Papers 18-12, Bank of Canada.
    8. 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).
    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. Walter Engert & Ben Fung, 2017. "Central Bank Digital Currency: Motivations and Implications," Discussion Papers 17-16, Bank of Canada.
    11. 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.
    12. 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.
    13. Daniela Balutel & Christopher Henry & Doina Rusu, 2023. "Cryptoasset Ownership and Use in Canada: An Update for 2022," Discussion Papers 2023-14, Bank of Canada.
    14. 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).
    15. Christopher Henry & Kim Huynh & Gradon Nicholls, 2018. "Bitcoin Awareness and Usage in Canada: An Update," Staff Analytical Notes 2018-23, Bank of Canada.
    16. Nils Brouwer & Jakob de Haan, 2024. "What Drives Households’ Knowledge about Cryptocurrencies?," Working Papers 799, DNB.
    17. Lin William Cong & Xi Li & Ke Tang & Yang Yang, 2023. "Crypto Wash Trading," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(11), pages 6427-6454, November.
    18. 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.
    19. 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.
    20. 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.
    21. 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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    Keywords

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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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