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WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. investors’ cryptocurrency ownership has fallen from last year’s high but remains well above where it stood several years ago. Eleven percent of investors now say they own cryptocurrency, down from 17% in 2025 but still significantly higher than the 2% and 6% readings in 2018 and 2021, respectively.

Ownership has also declined among U.S. adults overall: 9% now report owning cryptocurrency, down from 14% in Gallup’s initial reading of this group last year.

These results are based on a June 1-15 ÓÅÃÛ´«Ã½survey of 2,043 U.S. adults interviewed by web using Gallup’s probability-based panel. The nationally representative sample included more than 1,000 U.S. investors, defined as those with $10,000 or more in investable assets.

The cryptocurrency market is dominated by bitcoin, which was priced at nearly $59,000 per coin as of June 2026. Other cryptocurrencies are valued much lower, with many worth a penny per unit. Cryptocurrency investments have been quite volatile in recent years, with bitcoin climbing from roughly $6,000 per coin in 2018 to more than $100,000 in 2025, before losing nearly half of that value in the past year.

When ÓÅÃÛ´«Ã½first asked U.S. investors about bitcoin ownership in 2018, 2% said they owned it, less than 1% planned to buy it soon, 25% said they were intrigued but did not plan to buy, and 68% said they had no interest in ever buying it. Three years later, ownership had increased modestly to 6%, and many more said they were intrigued (33%) or planned to buy in the near future (2%), leaving 57% uninterested.

By last year, half of those who were intrigued or planning to buy had either bought crypto or were no longer interested, reducing the “intrigued” group to 18% (including 2% who planned to buy in the near term). That remains the case this year — 19% are intrigued or plan to buy, but ownership has ticked down to 11%, while the percentage uninterested has increased to 66%.

Younger Men Most Likely to Own

Cryptocurrency ownership is down among all major subgroups of investors, but slightly more among groups that have typically been most likely to own it — younger adults, men and, by extension, younger men. Younger men, defined as those aged 18 to 49, still rank among the investors most likely to own crypto, at 24%, though this is down from 33% in 2025. The current rate of ownership for younger men is more than double that of any other age/gender group.

As might be expected, upper-income investors (15%) are more likely than middle- (7%) and lower-income (4%) investors to own cryptocurrency. Upper-income owners appear more likely to be holding onto the investment, given a smaller decline in ownership rates (down four percentage points) compared with middle- and lower-income owners (each down eight points).

Most Investors Believe Cryptocurrency Is a High-Risk Investment

Investors overwhelmingly see cryptocurrency as a risky investment option, with 63% describing it as “very risky” and most of the rest, 31%, calling it “somewhat risky.” Three percent say it is “not too risky,” and the remaining 3% either aren’t familiar with it or didn’t respond to the question.

No fewer than six in 10 investors have seen cryptocurrency as very risky across four ÓÅÃÛ´«Ã½measurements. However, the current level is down from 71% when ÓÅÃÛ´«Ã½first asked about bitcoin in 2018.

Among current cryptocurrency owners, 47% say it is very risky, which is higher than the 37% of non-owners who are intrigued by cryptocurrency. Sixty-eight percent of those uninterested in cryptocurrency describe it as a very risky investment.

Bottom Line

Cryptocurrency ownership had been rising among U.S. investors, with 17% reporting owning it last year, while ownership among Americans overall stood at 14%. This year, however, following steep declines in cryptocurrency values, fewer investors or Americans, generally, report owning it.

In April, ÓÅÃÛ´«Ã½found just 2% of U.S. adults believing that cryptocurrency is the best long-term investment, the lowest ÓÅÃÛ´«Ã½has measured in a trend that dates to 2022. Americans are still much more likely to view traditional investments, such as real estate and stocks, as better choices for the long term.

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