Crypto Adoption Rises, but Active Use and Trust Lag
An Ipsos survey found that 22% of U.S. adults have ever owned or used cryptocurrency, up from 18% in 2025. However, active crypto use in the past year remained at 13%, while the share likely to use it in the future edged up only slightly, from 16% to 17%. The growth in past ownership largely reflects people who have since stopped using crypto, indicating that broader exposure has not yet led to sustained adoption.
Trust and familiarity remain obstacles to crypto adoption. Only 4% said they highly trust crypto exchanges, and just 5% expressed high trust in decentralized platforms, compared with 42% for large banks and 48% for credit unions. Only 9% felt highly familiar with crypto, and 2% were very familiar with decentralized finance (DeFi). Still, 40% said they might try DeFi, including for saving, earning interest or sending money.
The survey also found that 63% believe the financial system needs an upgrade to address risks such as cybercrime and AI, and 74% value financial privacy. Yet support for candidates promoting financial innovation fell from 35% when described broadly to 13% when crypto, blockchain and DeFi were specified. For traders, the findings suggest potential for future user growth, but weak retention and low confidence in crypto platforms remain headwinds. Active-use rates, future-user intent and trust are key indicators to monitor.
Neutral
The survey is broadly neutral for crypto prices because it reports no direct change in demand, capital flows or market activity. The rise in the share of Americans who have ever used crypto could support long-term adoption, but the unchanged 13% active-use rate and only marginal increase in future-use intent suggest that this potential has not yet translated into stronger current demand. The fact that much of the increase comes from former users also points to a retention challenge.
In the short term, traders are unlikely to treat survey results alone as a strong price catalyst. Low trust in exchanges and decentralized platforms, limited familiarity with crypto and weak political support when crypto is explicitly named may temper sentiment. Longer term, stated interest in DeFi and demand for financial privacy could provide a basis for user growth if platforms improve security, usability and trust. Until that interest produces sustained use and measurable market inflows, however, the findings are better viewed as adoption context than as a directional signal for crypto prices.