Who Owns Cryptocurrency?

Abstract

We study the portfolios and characteristics of cryptocurrency owners, including their position in the wealth distribution. We first use Norwegian tax returns to investigate portfolios and find that 0.85 percent of the adult population declares owning cryptocurrency. We then use a battery of novel data sources and statistics to understand the extent of non-compliance, finding that the actual population of cryptocurrency owners was approximately 5 percent of the full population. We also find that cryptocurrency owners are notably younger than the typical owners of traditional types of assets, and that cryptocurrency has become a considerable wealth object among younger generations.