A national survey by Ipsos finds 22% of U.S. adults have owned or used crypto, up from 18% in 2025. Past-year use held at 13%, and trust in crypto platforms stays low.
Some 22% of U.S. adults have ever owned or used crypto, up from 18% in 2025, according to a national survey Ipsos conducted for the DeFi Education Fund, a crypto policy advocacy group. The share who used crypto in the past 12 months, however, held flat at 13%.
Growth comes from people who stepped away
The increase came almost entirely from lapsed users. Among Americans who had not used crypto in the past year, the share who had ever owned or used it more than doubled, to 11% from 5%.
Plans to buy are flat as well. Seventeen percent say they are likely to own or use crypto in the future, compared with 16% last year. Curiosity was the top reason people tried crypto, cited by 34% of those who have owned it, followed by long-term investment at 25%.
The survey polled 1,545 adults from Sept. 8 to 16, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
Trust in crypto platforms stays low
Americans also doubt the traditional financial system. Only 19% say it is secure, while 63% say it needs an upgrade to combat threats like cybercrime and AI.
That skepticism has not translated into trust in crypto. Just 4% have high trust in crypto exchanges and 5% in decentralized platforms, compared with 42% for large national banks.
Messaging matters too. Support for candidates who emphasize innovative financial technology came in at 35%, but it fell to 13% when the question mentioned blockchain, crypto and DeFi.
Few know decentralized finance, but 40% are open to trying it
Only 2% of Americans are very familiar with decentralized finance. Yet 40% say they would be at least somewhat likely to try it if it were available.
Interest in learning more is slipping. The share who want to learn about stablecoins fell to 7% from 11%, and about DeFi to 8% from 11%.
Sources: Decrypt, Crypto Briefing
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