Crypto investors in advanced economies love CEXs and disregard white papers: Survey

While Canadians were the most likely to hold a lot of crypto on average, it seems the true crypto degens are in the US and particularly the UK

article-image

cdd20/Unsplash modified by Blockworks

share

Over 65% of people surveyed in Canada, the UK and the US said their crypto holdings are a “long-term investment,” according to a study released on Tuesday by fintech company Broadridge.

The study took into account the attitudes of 2,000 “crypto market participants” from March to June 2023. Its findings suggest that there is a contingent of people in advanced economies who are in it for the long haul and aren’t simply speculators. 

Bitcoin, the world’s largest and oldest cryptocurrency, was the most popular asset among the participants’ portfolios with over 70% holding it. Just shy of 70% of respondents held non-bitcoin cryptocurrencies, and considerably fewer people — around 25% — held stablecoins. 

Consistent with the buy and hold method many traditional stock investors employ, respondents paid more attention to “financials, risk and security, and information about the management team” instead of native crypto metrics such as tokenomics and network activity. 

The researchers partly chalked this up to the novelty of crypto assets, but concluded that the respondents were underappreciating elements such as token supply, major holders of the token, and governance when it comes to their investing strategy. 

In fact, one of the most valuable ways to gain insight into crypto projects — their white paper — was the least accessed source of information among the participants, at just over 20%. 

Crypto websites were the preferred source to gather information about crypto projects for nearly 40%, and even social media — i.e. crypto Twitter — was more of a go-to at around 26%.

And as much as the need for decentralization is a dominant narrative on crypto Twitter, survey results show that slightly more than 50% of people hold crypto on CEXs rather than in user-controlled wallets.

In terms of country-specific observations, one thing was clear. Canadians were the most likely to hold a significant portion of their wealth in crypto. The average Canadian surveyed held over 36% of their assets in some form of crypto. 

But the real crypto degens, who hold over 50% of their assets in crypto, were way more likely to be Americans or Brits. In fact, more than a tenth of UK respondents said 76% or more of their assets were held in crypto.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Featured.png

Research

Helium stands at a pivotal moment in its evolution as a decentralized wireless network, balancing rapid growth, economic restructuring, and global expansion. With accelerated growth in domestic DAUs and Hotspots supporting its network, Helium is leveraging strategic partnerships and innovative proposals to scale internationally. The recent implementation of HIP 138, “Return to HNT,” has unified its token economy under HNT, simplifying participation and strengthening liquidity, while HIP 139’s phase-out of CBRS refocuses efforts on scalable Wi-Fi offload. Meanwhile, governance shifts under HIP 141 raise questions about centralization as Nova Labs consolidates control over the roadmap.

article-image

The DeFi Education Fund has ideas on how the crypto-friendly SEC can bring Commissioner Peirce’s vision to life

article-image

“Be prepared to do more with less,” Framework Ventures’ Michael Anderson said

article-image

Q1 may have been “frustrating,” but things are looking brighter for Q2

article-image

Tokens worth 20% of the current supply of the TRUMP memecoin launched by the president are set to be unlocked tomorrow

article-image

A crypto-industry lawsuit is “moot” now that Joint Resolution 25 has been signed into law

article-image

Fed Chair Powell assured markets that the labor market is in “good place,” dependent on price stability