Is the US Lagging Behind the EU in Crypto Investments?

A report by the Federal Reserve (Fed) is shedding some light on crypto owners in the United States. As crypto exchanges call for global adoption of cryptocurrencies, where do US consumers stand?

A recent study by the Fed showed that 46% that held crypto as an investment in the United States earn $100,000 or more per annum although 29% earn under $50,000.

source: Federal Reserve

Only 12% of adults used cryptocurrencies in 2021. While the figure may appear relatively low, the younger generation may not have been factored in.

Lower-income individuals were more likely to use cryptocurrencies for transactions rather than investments. According to Stilt, Gen Z and Millennials made up nearly 94% of all crypto buyers in 2021.

The European Central Bank (ECB) provided greater insights into cryptocurrency holders in Europe. It has been estimated that 10% of households in the Eurozone hold cryptocurrencies.

source: ECB

According to the ECB, 37% of crypto owners in the eurozone hold up to 999 euros in cryptocurrencies. Only 8% hold between 15,000 and 30,000 euros.

As stated in the ECB report: “Looking at the income quintiles of the respondents, the pattern is largely U-shaped: the higher a household's income, the more likely it is to hold crypto-assets, with lower-income households more likely to hold crypto than middle-income households.

“On average, young adult males and highly educated respondents were more likely to invest in crypto-assets in the countries surveyed. With regard to financial literacy, respondents who scored either at the top level or the bottom level in terms of financial literacy scores were highly likely to hold crypto-assets.”

source: ECB

Additionally, the ECB is concerned with the leverage that is offered by exchanges. According to the central bank, the leverage Leverage In financial trading, leverage is a loan supplied by a broker, which facilitates a trader in being able to control a relatively large amount of money with a significantly lesser initial investment. Leverage therefore allows traders to make a much greater return on investment compared to trading without any leverage. Traders seek to make a profit from movements in financial markets, such as stocks and currencies.Trading without any leverage would greatly diminish the potential rewards, so traders In financial trading, leverage is a loan supplied by a broker, which facilitates a trader in being able to control a relatively large amount of money with a significantly lesser initial investment. Leverage therefore allows traders to make a much greater return on investment compared to trading without any leverage. Traders seek to make a profit from movements in financial markets, such as stocks and currencies.Trading without any leverage would greatly diminish the potential rewards, so traders Read this Term has been gradually increasing over the years.

Moreover, the crypto yield farming industry is being monitored by the central bank. Although it is still small in size, the ECB noted it may continue growing at a fast pace.

“Crypto lending Crypto Lending The process of lending cryptocurrency assets with an accrued interest rate and due date is known as crypto lending. The process of crypto lending often occurs through cryptocurrency exchanges or online lending platforms to connect borrowers to lenders. Lenders of crypto lending are comprised of institutional lenders, like hedge funds and asset managers, individual participants, or entities seeking to accrue interest. On the opposite end of the spectrum, borrowers of crypto lending include market The process of lending cryptocurrency assets with an accrued interest rate and due date is known as crypto lending. The process of crypto lending often occurs through cryptocurrency exchanges or online lending platforms to connect borrowers to lenders. Lenders of crypto lending are comprised of institutional lenders, like hedge funds and asset managers, individual participants, or entities seeking to accrue interest. On the opposite end of the spectrum, borrowers of crypto lending include market Read this Term has spurred 'yield farming' investment strategies such as incentivising investors to lend their crypto-assets to a pool that helps provide liquidity to DeFi systems while offering potential investors the highest possible returns at all times. Currently, the crypto-asset deposit/lending industry is still quite small compared with traditional banking, although it could continue to grow rapidly.”

Are We in Front of a 'Crypto Boom?'

Geoffrey R. Hunter, the Co-Founder & COO of Blockchain Asset Management, shares his views on the recent survey. Blockchain Asset Management is a crypto hedge fund that was launched this year, focusing on web 3.0, GameFi, the Metaverse and NFTs.

A big portion of the fund will be diversifying a portion of bitcoin miners' intake in to the altcoin market. The other portion is with individual accredited investors.

“High earners tend to have 'extra money' to speculate on more risker investments than most,” said Hunter.

“Even though, personally, I feel that we are in the golden era of crypto very similar to the tech boom in the 90's. It's a once in a generation type of opportunity that can set you up for life.

“This is why I believe the low-income individuals are investing trying to pick the next bitcoin. You've seen what returns are possible with the examples of Doge and Shiba Inu.

“I don't particularly recommend those, but it can become very enticing. I see the trend picking up as we see crypto getting adopted and more recognized across the major companies.”

Hunter added that he anticipates the upcoming regulations to have a positive impact on crypto investors.

Crypto Investing Trends 2022

JPMorgan's strategists are expecting Bitcoin to trade higher, estimating the cryptocurrency to be undervalued by 28%:

'The past month’s crypto market correction looks more like capitulation relative to last January/February and going forward we see upside for bitcoin and crypto markets more generally.'

JPMorgan target for bitcoin is $38,000 while the long-term target is $150,000.

The newly released projection may draw more investments into cryptocurrencies. Aside bitcoin, the investment bank also views cryptocurrencies as its preferred alternative asset class, which replaced real estate due high mortgage rates:

'We thus replace real estate with digital assets as our preferred alternative asset class along with hedge funds.'

The strategists made their analysis after Terra Luna collapsed. Although the crypto markets sentiment has been affected, venture capital funding into the crypto markets remains firm.

Although it may be unrelated, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) announced on Wednesday that a new crypto fund worth $4.5 billion has been launched.

More companies are likely to accelerate their entrance to crypto universe due to BTC lower price and bullish projections. When Bitcoin begins correcting higher we may witness the middle-class joining the trend as it is likely to be hyped by media publishers.

Crypto exchanges may benefit the most as the flow of new traders into the crypto markets may increase substantially.