2018 Bitcoin Omnibus Survey: Awareness and usage

The Bank of Canada commissioned the Bitcoin Omnibus Survey in 2016 to monitor trends in the adoption and use of Bitcoin and other cryptoassets (Henry, Huynh and Nicholls 2018, 2019). This report presents findings from the latest iteration of the survey, which was conducted in 2018. We find that between 2016 and 2018 the share of Canadians who were aware of Bitcoin increased from 62 percent to 89 percent and those who owned Bitcoin increased from 3 percent to 5 percent. However, the share of past owners also increased, suggesting an influx of Bitcoin owners who subsequently divested after the steep rise of prices in 2017. The main reason for owning Bitcoin remains speculation, though this share decreased slightly since 2017. On the other hand, the share of Canadians who reported using Bitcoin for transactions a few times a month or more increased. Finally, we discuss how Bitcoin adopters differ from overall Canadians with respect to their financial literacy, preferences over payment methods, and cash holdings.