Survey offers regulator crucial insight about how aware Canadians crypto investors are of risks and rules
A poll of investors on cryptocurrency assets conducted by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has revealed that 13% of Canadians presently own cryptocurrency assets or funds.
While most Canadians lacked practical awareness of the practical, legal, and regulatory issues of holding them, half of those polled overall could define crypto assets with accuracy. On average, the survey respondents garnered a crypto asset knowledge score of 37%.
According to the survey, 38% of Canadians think that crypto assets presently play a significant role in the financial system.
"The data from our crypto asset study provides the OSC with valuable insights about Canadians who are — and who are not — investing in crypto," said Tyler Fleming, Director of the Investor Office at the OSC. "As a responsible regulator, the OSC is monitoring the rise in crypto assets in Canada and around the world. The survey helps us better understand Canadians' knowledge of the risks and rules, and their motivation for investing in these assets."
Read more: Nearly half of crypto investors took the plunge last year, survey finds
While 31% of Canadians want to buy cryptocurrency within the next year, over half of those polled do not.
Peeling back the layers, the study found different motivations for crypto asset ownership, including a desire to earn more money than a conventional savings account; a conviction behind the technology's worth; wanting to make a bet or speculative investment; and portfolio diversification.
Most respondents polled had no experience investing in cryptocurrencies. But those who have done so before, the OSC study found, were more likely to be stockholders, fund investors, and owners of other sorts of securities.
Compared to non-crypto asset buyers, they also had greater levels of overall financial literacy, and understanding of cryptocurrency; were more willing to take on risk and had a more aggressive approach to investing; and more likely to have been targeted by cryptocurrency advertising and believe it influenced their purchases.
Read more: Crypto should remain the 'most speculative' part of your portfolio
The OSC report also found crypto asset owners were likely to fall into specific demographic buckets:
- male (67%)
- between 24 and 44 years old (59%)
- more formally educated (49% hold undergraduate or higher degrees)
- working full-time (67%) in a slightly higher income bracket (37%: $100k+ yearly)
Two fifths (41%) of cryptocurrency buyers got their information mostly via word of mouth before making a purchase. Others relied on their financial advisor (15%), a blockchain technology specialist (20%), or social media influencer posts (21%).
Nearly three quarters (74%) of those who hold crypto assets didn't get their financial advisor's recommendation to buy them, and the majority never even brought up the possibility.
