Bitcoin is about to turn ten years old in a few days and so far, it has reached the attention of regulators and a lot of people know about cryptos these days. In fact, there are countries that have adopted cryptocurrencies. Banks such as Santander have experimented with Ripple products in decreasing cross-border transactions.
The fact is that cryptocurrencies do have practical use in our lives today. According to a report that was recently released by the Bank of Canada, the number of Canadians holding Bitcoin has increased by 73% in 2017.
The Rise of Bitcoin in 2017
Bitcoin from trading around $1,000 during the start of the year was able to skyrocket all the way to near $20,000 level by mid-December. This meant a number of things. It means that it has caught the attention of investors who are looking for a quick way to generate profits from the cryptocurrency’s volatility and two, it has also caught the attention of regulators.
Regulators started making the necessary changes in policies because of this. In fact, in the US, it has been established by the US Securities and Exchange Commission that Bitcoin and Ethereum are commodities while most ICOs can fall under the category of securities. However, not all countries responded positively. You have China that has banned cryptocurrencies. Though China recently considered Bitcoin as a property, Chinese authorities raised their anti-crypto stance a few months back.
Canada’s Bitcoin Adoption
Based on the report, people who owned Bitcoin in Canada increased from 2.9% to 5% which ultimately means that it almost doubled in just one year. In the same document that is entitled BItcoin Awareness and Usage in Canada: An Update, it also stated that age groups 45 years old and 54 years old had the highest growth. Bitcoin ownership in this age group jumped from 0.9% to 3.5%. Though it is still a small number compared to the entire Canadian population, it is a good sign for cryptocurrencies.
In fact, according to Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), they published an information that one in every ten Canadian actually owns Bitcoin. And also, it is worth mentioning that though female Bitcoin holders remained at 2%, men Bitcoin holders jumped from 4.2% to 8.1%.
Based on the report of Bank of Canada, Bitcoin is growing in popularity not only in cities but also in provinces of the country. How much are Canadians willing to invest in Bitcoin? The number of Canadian Bitcoin holders that are holding less than 1 BTC has grown by 10% and the number of people that have exceeded 1 BTC grew by 2%. Though those who own more than 1 BTC is only 10% of the total number of Bitcoin holders, this still gives us an insight into how much Canadians are willing to risk on cryptos.
It is quite interesting to see if this number will grow considering that news on institutional investors could potentially enter the market. Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) could play a huge role in case big names start investing in cryptos. Bakkt is going live while Fidelity has decided to open a new company dedicated to cryptos.
