More Americans Have Tried Crypto, But Few Are Sticking With It: Survey

A national survey by Ipsos for the DeFi Education Fund revealed that 22% of U.S. adults have ever utilized or possessed crypto, an increase from 18% in 2025.

However, the proportion who engaged with crypto within the preceding 12 months remained stable at 13%. This rise in overall usage stemmed almost exclusively from individuals who had previously stopped using the assets.

For those who had not used crypto in the last year, the percentage who had ever owned or used it more than doubled, moving from 5% to 11%. Plans for future acquisition are also steady, with 17% indicating a likelihood to own or use crypto subsequently, compared to 16% the previous year.

Men were significantly more likely than women to have used crypto over the past year, at 18% versus 8%. Furthermore, adults under the age of 60 showed a much higher propensity for past crypto usage than older Americans.

Curiosity was cited by 34% of those who held crypto as the primary motivation for trying it, while long-term investment accounted for 25% of that reason.

The survey, which polled 1,545 adults between Sept. 8 and 16 on Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel, also highlighted significant distrust in established finance. Only 19% deemed the current financial system secure, whereas 63% stated it requires an upgrade to counter threats such as AI and cybercrime.

Despite skepticism regarding traditional finance, trust in crypto exchanges is low, with only 4% reporting high confidence in them, and 5% in decentralized platforms, contrasting with 42% for large national banks.

Knowledge of decentralized finance (DeFi) is limited; only 2% of Americans are very familiar with it. Nonetheless, 40% expressed a somewhat likely inclination to try DeFi if it were accessible, with over 8 in 10 of that group intending to use it for saving, earning interest, or sending funds.