A Report From The Canadian Securities Commission About Ontarians And Their Crypto Holdings
The study conducted by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) entitled “Taking Caution: Financial Consumers and the Cryptoasset Sector,” has revealed that about half a million people (5 percent of Ontario residents) actually own cryptocurrencies. The report says:
“Five percent of Ontarians currently own crypto assets. Based on recent population estimates, this figure translates into over 500,000 Ontarians currently holding at least some cryptoassets. An additional 4 percent of Ontarians owned cryptoassets in the past but no longer do.”
To add to that, statistics from the Canadian Department of Statistics now shows an estimate of 14,374,084 citizens in the province, which equates to 718,704 Ontarians that are in possession of any type of cryptoassets.
Half of the cryptoasset owners spend less than $1,000 on their cryptocurrencies. 90 percent of them spend under $10,000 and about 50,000 Ontarians spend more than $10,000.
A background research by the OSC investor Office and a survey of over 2,667 Ontarians aged 18 and more are the factors on which the study was based. The survey was carried out between March 14 and 22, and includes “an oversample of 1,506 men aged 18-34,” because of “its higher expected propensity, based on prior research, to own cryptoassets compared to the rest of the public.”
“Men aged 18-34 were substantially more likely to report owning a cryptoasset than the general public, with 14 percent reporting that they currently own a cryptoasset,” according to the report.
The survey sample was “weighted down to n=1,000 by age, gender and region using the latest Statistics Canada Census data to reflect the actual demographic composition of the adult population residing in Ontario.”
The OSC cited that only a small percentage of Ontarians own cryptoassets. “Ontario’s large population means that even small percentages can collectively translate into substantial numbers—numbers sufficient to concern the OSC as a securities regulatory authority.”
The report also gave details on the participation of Ontarians in ICOs. Half of past and present cryptoasset owners believe ICOs are not being regulated or they don’t even know who regulates them. “This belief is incorrect,” the Commission clarified. “The OSC regulates ICOs that constitute securities offerings.”
Others said they learned of ICOs only through social media, friends and family, even online ads and email. The report states: “About 1.5 percent of Ontarians have participated in an ICO. This percentage translates to about 170,000 Ontarians who have participated in an ICO.”
