Bitcoin Awareness and Usage in Canada: An Update

Abstract

This article provides an update of the results of the 2017 Bitcoin Omnibus Survey (BTCOS) conducted by the Bank of Canada from December 12 to 15, 2017. The BTCOS was previously conducted in November and December 2016 and the results were reported in Henry, Huynh, and Nicholls (2017, forthcoming). The 2017 survey took place in an interesting time, as Bitcoin prices were increasing and reached an all-time high on December 17, 2017. During this period, the level of awareness of Bitcoin increased from 64 percent in the 2016 BTCOS to 85 percent in the 2017 BTCOS, while ownership rose from 2.9 to 5.0 percent respectively. The main reason cited by survey participants for owning Bitcoin changed from transactional purposes in 2016 to investment purposes in 2017. Further, only about half of Bitcoin owners were found to regularly use Bitcoin to buy goods or services or to send money to other people. <b>TOPICS:</b>Currency, portfolio construction, wealth management