Britons go mad for bitcoin: Here's who is most likely to buy it and how much they hold
Have you been caught in bitcoin mania in recent times? You're not alone.
Geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty and growing institutional acceptance have sent the price of the cryptocurrency soaring over the past year.
Growing numbers of investors and speculators have - rightly or wrongly - used bitcoin as a hedge against market turmoil.
Now, a new report shows more Britons are buying bitcoin at a faster pace than other cryptocurrencies, and it's not just the under-25s getting a slice of the action.
Bitcoin reached a new high in March 2024 after the Securities and Exchange Commission accepted Bitcoin spot ETFs, before falling back in April for Bitcoin's halving event.
In late 2024, more investors flooded the market following Trump's re-election and Bitcoin broke the $100,000 barrier. It has traded around this mark and is currently trading at $103,000.
Bitcoin-only exchange Coin Corner says that 51 per cent of its UK customers have been buying and selling the cryptocurrency for three or more years.
It's not just a one-off for these investors, who are not young risk-takers but, on average, aged between 35 and 54 years old.
It contrasts with a report by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) at the end of 2024, which found that 24 per cent of investors are aged between 18 and 34.
It is still dominated by males, with just 14 per cent of females using Coin Corner to buy and sell Bitcoin.
A north-south divide has also emerged, with nearly two-thirds of transactions happening in the South, with London having the highest volume.
Just under a third of the transactions came from the North, while 10 per cent came in the Midlands.
London had the highest transactional volume and generally, users in the South led the way with two-thrids of transactions taking place there. Just 10 per cent of transactions came from the Midlands.
Bullish investors hold onto their crypto
The vast majority (88 per cent) of Coin Corner users have bought bitcoin more than once and investors are bullish, with 86 per cent of all transactions being buys, while just 14 per cent of transactions were investors selling.
While the average customer bought £412 of bitcoin last year, some investors bought as little as £5 while others pile thousands of pounds into the cryptocurrency. Coin Corner says the highest buy on its platform was £118,000.
The average amount of bitcoin sold was much higher at £5,513, while others took out as much as £1.6million.
As expected, buy and sell activity closely follows bitcoin's price fluctuations, with a significant increase in selling volume in March 2024 and later in the year as prices surged.
While some investors are reacting to the volatility, Coin Corner says 51 per cent of its customers have never sold their bitcoin.
Meanwhile, as of the end of last year, 97 per cent of holders were in profit - that compares to just 13 per cent of holders in 2022.
The amount held in the wallets fluctuates, but assuming bitcoin at £75,000 ($99,000), just over half of investors hold bitcoin worth up to £1,000.
Some 19 per cent of investors held between £1,000 and £5,000, 7 per cent sat on bitcoin worth between £5,000 and £10,000, while 18 per cent owned over £10,000 worth.
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