Crypto Ownership Declines as Investors Flock to Safer Assets
Crypto ownership has declined over the past year, according to a new Gallup survey. The percentage of U.S. adults who own cryptocurrency fell from 14% to 9%, and among investors with $10,000 or more in investable assets, it dropped from 17% to 11%. A significant portion of these investors, two-thirds, say they're not interested in buying crypto, up just a few percentage points from last year.
Professor Jay Zagorsky attributes this decline to the recent price drop, which has sent 'tenuous investors looking elsewhere.' Stephen Kates, a certified financial planner and principal at Clocktower Financial Consulting, notes that the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem hasn't fared as well as Bitcoin and Ethereum in recent years. He describes crypto's early 2020s growth as a 'honeymoon period'.
Kates expects Bitcoin and Ethereum to remain volatile assets but says they will likely hold some value. However, he believes many other coins and tokens will 'fade further into obscurity or remain primarily outlets for speculation, memes, and gambling.'