Bitcoin Ownership In Canada has Increased Since 2016
A study done by the Central Bank of Canada, bitcoin ownership in the country has increased by 72 percent from 2016 to 2017.
The recently released update to the 2017 Bitcoin Omnibus Survey (BTCOS), conducted by the Bank of Canada last December, shows that five percent of Canadians own bitcoin, increasing from 2.9 percent when the central bank conducted a survey back in November 2016. Even though it is not such a large increase, it, however, represents a 72 percent increase a short period of time, a proof that cryptocurrency has attracted many investors during the 2017 bull market.
The increase in ownership does not come as a surprise as it was followed by a shift in the primary reason that Canadian bitcoin owners decided to buy the asset. During the November 2016 survey, a substantial number of Canadians (39 percent) stated that they owned bitcoin for transactional trades, including making payments or transferring money to other people. With the height of the bull market in mid-December 2017, about 58 percent of BTC owners stated that they were holding the asset for investment reasons.
Fear of missing out (FOMO) also had a great impact on bitcoin ownership, at least during the frenzied market of Q4 2017. About 12 percent of those surveyed claimed that their main reason for buying BTC was that “my friend owns bitcoin.”
Yet although ownership is still low, the study also indicates that bitcoin has effectively achieved adoption in the Great White North. The study also discovered that about 85 percent of Canadian residents know of bitcoin, rising from 64 percent in 2017.
This rise is partially from the fact that the country has turned out to be a leading center for cryptocurrency mining in the Western hemisphere, mainly as a result of plenty of excess electricity, cooler average temperatures, and cheap energy rates.
It is uncertain when the Bank of Canada will conduct another follow-up survey on bitcoin awareness, yet, it if happens to do it, it will be exciting to know whether the recent bear market results to a significant drop in cryptoasset ownership.
