Fed Survey: 10% of U.S. Adults Used or Held Crypto in 2025
- Lyla Velez
- May 19, 2026
- News
- 0 Comments
The Federal Reserve found that 10% of U.S. adults used or held cryptocurrency in 2025, a figure that captures both active usage and passive holdings across the country’s adult population.
The finding comes from the Fed’s annual Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, published in its 2025 report on the economic well-being of U.S. households. The survey frames crypto participation broadly, combining those who actively transacted with digital assets and those who simply held them.
What “used or held” tells us about U.S. crypto adoption
The survey’s phrasing matters. By grouping usage and holdings into a single metric, the Fed captured a wider slice of participation than trading volume alone would suggest. Someone holding bitcoin in a self-custody wallet and someone paying for goods with a stablecoin both count toward the same 10% figure.
That breadth makes the statistic useful as a baseline adoption indicator. It reflects not just speculative activity but also practical engagement with digital assets, from decentralized trading platforms to simple buy-and-hold strategies.
The 2025 timeframe also places the data point in a period of growing institutional interest. Companies like Strive Asset Management have steadily accumulated bitcoin on their balance sheets, and new market infrastructure such as Polymarket’s partnership with Nasdaq has expanded the range of crypto-adjacent products available to U.S. users.
Why a Fed-sourced figure carries weight
Crypto adoption surveys are common, but the source here sets this one apart. The Federal Reserve’s household survey is a well-established instrument used by policymakers, economists, and regulators to gauge financial behavior across the U.S. adult population.
A nationally representative figure from the Fed carries more institutional credibility than opt-in industry polls or exchange-reported user counts. It gives lawmakers and regulators a data point grounded in the same methodology used to track savings rates, employment, and financial inclusion.
That policy relevance is already visible in adjacent discussions. Groups like Coin Center have outlined proposals to simplify crypto tax rules for everyday users, an effort that becomes harder for Congress to ignore when official Fed data confirms one in ten adults holds or uses digital assets.
Future editions of the Fed’s household survey will show whether the 10% figure represents a plateau or a step in a longer adoption curve. For now, it stands as the clearest official measure of how far crypto has penetrated mainstream American financial life.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.
