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2018 Bitcoin Omnibus Survey: Awareness and Usage

Author

Listed:
  • Christopher Henry
  • Kim Huynh
  • Gradon Nicholls
  • Mitchell Nicholson

Abstract

The Bank of Canada continues to use the Bitcoin Omnibus Survey (BTCOS) to monitor trends in Canadians’ awareness, ownership and use of Bitcoin. The most recent iteration was conducted in late 2018, following an 85 percent decline in the price of Bitcoin throughout the year. In 2017, almost half of Bitcoin adopters reported investing as their primary reason for owning it. This implies that the dramatic price drop could have affected whether Canadians continue to own Bitcoin and, if they do, what they use it for. The BTCOS has been conducted each year since 2016 with slight changes and improvements in every iteration. For 2018, we added questions on Canadians’ financial literacy, their plans to stop using cash and their preferences over features of online transactions. We also improved our way of calibrating sample estimates to represent the overall Canadian population with respect to demographic composition. The survey shows that from 2016 to 2018, both the share of Canadians who are aware of Bitcoin and who own bitcoin increased. But the share of past owners also increased, suggesting an influx of Bitcoin owners who sold their holdings after 2017. The main reason for owning Bitcoin continued to be for store of value or investment purposes, though this decreased slightly from 2017. Finally, Bitcoin owners differed from the overall population in two ways: they were less financially literate and more likely to say they plan to stop using cash.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher Henry & Kim Huynh & Gradon Nicholls & Mitchell Nicholson, 2019. "2018 Bitcoin Omnibus Survey: Awareness and Usage," Discussion Papers 2019-10, Bank of Canada.
    • Handle: RePEc:bca:bocadp:19-10
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Annamaria Lusardi & Olivia S. Mitchell, 2014. "The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 52(1), pages 5-44, March.
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    5. Cosslett, Stephen R, 1981. "Maximum Likelihood Estimator for Choice-Based Samples," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(5), pages 1289-1316, September.
    6. Henry, Christopher S. & Huynh, Kim P. & Nicholls, Gradon, 2018. "Bitcoin awareness and usage in Canada," Journal of Digital Banking, Henry Stewart Publications, vol. 2(4), pages 311-337, May.
    7. Christopher Henry & Kim Huynh & Rallye Shen, 2015. "2013 Methods-of-Payment Survey Results," Discussion Papers 15-4, Bank of Canada.
    8. Heng Chen & Q. Rallye Shen, 2019. "Variance Estimation for Survey-Weighted Data Using Bootstrap Resampling Methods: 2013 Methods-of-Payment Survey Questionnaire," Advances in Econometrics, in: The Econometrics of Complex Survey Data, volume 39, pages 87-106, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    9. Heng Chen & Q. Rallye Shen, 2017. "Variance estimation for survey-weighted data using bootstrap resampling methods: 2013 methods-of-payment," Canadian Stata Users' Group Meetings 2017 13, Stata Users Group.
    10. Susan Athey & Christian Catalini & Catherine Tucker, 2017. "The Digital Privacy Paradox: Small Money, Small Costs, Small Talk," NBER Working Papers 23488, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Christopher Henry & Kim Huynh & Gradon Nicholls, 2018. "Bitcoin Awareness and Usage in Canada: An Update," Staff Analytical Notes 2018-23, Bank of Canada.
    12. Heng Chen & Marie-Hélène Felt & Christopher Henry, 2018. "2017 Methods-of-Payment Survey: Sample Calibration and Variance Estimation," Technical Reports 114, Bank of Canada.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Daniela Balutel & Christopher Henry & Jorge Vásquez & Marcel Voia, 2022. "Bitcoin adoption and beliefs in Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(4), pages 1729-1761, November.
    2. Helmut Stix, 2021. "Ownership and purchase intention of crypto-assets: survey results," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 48(1), pages 65-99, February.
    3. Heng Chen & Walter Engert & Marie-Hélène Felt & Kim P. Huynh & Gradon Nicholls & Daneal O'Habib & Julia Zhu, 2021. "Cash and COVID-19: The impact of the second wave in Canada," Discussion Papers 2021-12, Bank of Canada.
    4. Jurgen E. Schatzmann & Bernhard Haslhofer, 2020. "Exploring investor behavior in Bitcoin: a study of the disposition effect," Papers 2010.12415, arXiv.org, revised Jul 2023.
    5. Levkov Nikola & Bogoevska-Gavrilova Irena & Trajkovska Milica, 2022. "Profile and Financial Behaviour of Crypto Adopters – Evidence from Macedonian Population Survey," South East European Journal of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 17(2), pages 172-185, December.
    6. Kim Huynh & Gradon Nicholls & Mitchell Nicholson, 2019. "2018 Merchant Acceptance Survey," Staff Analytical Notes 2019-31, Bank of Canada.
    7. Stolbov, Mikhail & Shchepeleva, Maria, 2020. "What predicts the legal status of cryptocurrencies?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 273-291.
    8. Anantha Divakaruni & Peter Zimmerman, 2024. "Uncovering Retail Trading in Bitcoin: The Impact of COVID-19 Stimulus Checks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 70(4), pages 2066-2085, April.
    9. Walter Engert & Ben Fung & Björn Segendorf, 2019. "A Tale of Two Countries: Cash Demand in Canada and Sweden," Discussion Papers 2019-7, Bank of Canada.
    10. Daniela Balutel & Christopher S. Henry & Kim P. Huynh & Marcel C. Voia, 2024. "Cash in the Pocket, Cash in the Cloud: Cash Holdings of Bitcoin Owners," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 20(3), pages 115-159, July.
    11. Marie-Hélène Felt & David Laferrière, 2020. "Sample Calibration of the Online CFM Survey," Technical Reports 118, Bank of Canada.
    12. Fujiki, Hiroshi, 2020. "Who adopts crypto assets in Japan? Evidence from the 2019 financial literacy survey," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    13. Heng Chen & Walter Engert & Kim Huynh & Gradon Nicholls & Julia Zhu, 2021. "Cash and COVID-19: The Effects of Lifting Containment Measures on Cash Demand and Use," Discussion Papers 2021-3, Bank of Canada.
    14. Janet Hua Jiang, 2020. "CBDC adoption and usage: some insights from field and laboratory experiments," Staff Analytical Notes 2020-12, Bank of Canada.
    15. Daniela Balutel & Walter Engert & Christopher Henry & Kim Huynh & Marcel Voia, 2022. "Private Digital Cryptoassets as Investment? Bitcoin Ownership and Use in Canada, 2016-2021," Staff Working Papers 22-44, Bank of Canada.
    16. Kim Huynh & Gradon Nicholls & Mitchell Nicholson, 2020. "2019 Cash Alternative Survey Results," Discussion Papers 2020-8, Bank of Canada.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bank notes; Digital Currencies and Fintech; Econometric and statistical methods;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C12 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Hypothesis Testing: General
    • E4 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates
    • O51 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - U.S.; Canada

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