U.S. cryptocurrency adoption has climbed to its highest level in three years, with about 10% of American adults using or investing in cryptocurrency in 2025, according to the Federal Reserve's latest Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking. As reported by the Federal Reserve, this represents an increase from levels recorded in 2023 and 2024, though adoption remains below the 12% peak reported during the 2021 crypto market boom. The data reveals a clear shift in how Americans are interacting with digital assets, with most users treating crypto as an investment product rather than a payment method. However, the 10% figure represents cryptocurrency ownership among U.S. adults, not active usage, with separate surveys finding roughly 21% of U.S. adults now hold digital assets according to the Motley Fool Money survey.
Despite the increased ownership numbers, payment adoption has actually declined over three years, with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City finding that only 1.9% of U.S. consumers used cryptocurrency to pay for something in 2024, down from 2.7% in 2022 and 2.6% in 2021. However, the latest Federal Reserve survey reveals a 2% payment usage rate that represents an increase from the previous survey period, though it remains far below the 9% who use crypto for investment. The original vision of cryptocurrency as a payment substitute has not materialized in the U.S. market, with the gap between ~10% ownership and ~2% payment usage confirming crypto remains primarily an investment vehicle rather than a medium of exchange. Among those who did use crypto for payments, 25% said they chose it because businesses accepted it and it offered faster, cheaper transactions, according to the Federal Reserve report. Despite relatively low transaction figures, payment companies and Bitcoin-focused firms have continued pushing digital assets into commerce, with Block enabling Bitcoin and stablecoin payments for more than 800,000 merchants across the U.S.
A significant finding in the Federal Reserve report highlights the cryptocurrency payment rate was three times higher among adults without a bank account — 6% compared to 2% for the general adult population. This suggests that for some Americans, crypto serves as an alternative financial tool, bypassing traditional banking infrastructure. The unbanked individuals may turn to crypto for faster and cheaper transactions, as well as merchant acceptance, creating a practical niche for digital assets in financial inclusion. The Fed report stated that 6% of unbanked adults used cryptocurrency for transactions in 2025, compared with 2% of banked adults, with the central bank estimating that roughly 6% of Americans remained unbanked during the year. Within the group that used crypto for payments, more than one-quarter said the business receiving the payment preferred digital assets, with respondents citing faster transfers, lower transaction costs, and privacy as the main reasons for using crypto. Far fewer respondents associated crypto payments with distrust in the banking system, with less than 10% saying businesses preferred crypto because it was considered safer than banks or because of concerns around traditional financial institutions.
According to Federal Reserve data, 9% of adults used cryptocurrency for investment purposes, while only 2% reported using it for payments and 1% used it to send money to family or friends. The survey findings suggest that most Americans continue to view crypto as a speculative or long-term financial asset rather than a substitute for traditional payment rails. Among transactors, the minority using crypto for purchases and money transfers differ fundamentally from investors, being less financially literate, more likely to be Black, unmarried, and lower income per Federal Reserve research. Self-employed individuals and family business owners are significantly more likely to use crypto for payments than wage earners. These users rely more heavily on alternative financial services like payday loans and buy-now-pay-later products, creating vulnerability as they engage with a volatile, unregulated market without traditional finance safeguards.
Separate polling from POLITICO and research firm Public First suggested that crypto policy has not become a major political issue for most American voters. The survey found that only 4% of Americans said a political candidate's stance on cryptocurrency would influence their vote in an upcoming election. Support for government action to legitimize crypto as a mainstream financial asset remained mixed, with 27% supporting such measures, 31% opposing, and 42% saying they were neutral or unsure. Even among respondents who had previously bought or sold cryptocurrency, just 7% said crypto policy would influence their voting decisions, according to the poll. Traditional banks continued to command more public trust, with 47% of respondents saying they would trust a bank with their money over a crypto platform, while only 9% preferred crypto platforms. However, 48% said Bitcoin crossing $100,000 made them more likely to invest, reigniting ownership interest despite payment adoption challenges. Institutional sentiment toward digital assets has remained comparatively strong, with a joint Coinbase and EY-Parthenon survey finding that 74% of institutional investors expected cryptocurrency prices to rise, while 73% planned to increase their digital asset allocations before the end of 2026.
