Crypto's 'honeymoon period' fades as ownership declines

(TNND) — Cryptocurrency ownership has fallen from its high point a year ago as financial experts say the once edgy, underground asset has lost some steam with investors.

A new Gallup survey found crypto ownership has fallen from 14% to 9% among all U.S. adults over the last year and from 17% to 11% among investors.

Two-thirds of investors – defined by Gallup as folks with $10,000 or more in investable assets – say they aren’t interested in buying crypto. That’s up just a few percentage points compared to last year.

The share of investors who say they’re intrigued by crypto or plan to buy has remained flat at just under 20%.

Young men – those 18-49 – are the most likely to own crypto. But even among that subgroup, ownership has fallen from 33% to 24% over the last year.

Professor Jay Zagorsky, with the Questrom School of Business at Boston University, said a crypto price drop over the last year has sent “tenuous investors ... looking someplace else to make their fortune.”

Stephen Kates, a certified financial planner and the principal at Clocktower Financial Consulting, said a large majority of the crypto market’s value is concentrated in bitcoin and Ethereum.

Kates said crypto enjoyed a “honeymoon period” in the early 2020s, but the years since haven’t been as kind to the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem as they have been to bitcoin specifically.