One in eight French people own cryptocurrencies in 2024, up 28% year-on-year

This is what emerges from the new study by the Association for the Development of Digital Assets (Adan) presented this Tuesday morning in Bercy.

The turbulence of 2022 in cryptos has not frightened the French. In 2024, 12% will own crypto-assets, or one in 8 French people, reveals the latest study by the Association for the Development of Digital Assets (Adan), Ipsos and KPMG.

“This represents 6.5 million investors in France and an increase of 28% compared to last year,” says Faustine Fleuret, president and general manager of Adan. Presented this Tuesday, March 19 in Bercy from 9:00 a.m., the study targeted a sample of 2,001 people aged 18 and over in December 2023. In detail, 10% of French people own cryptocurrencies, 6% NFTs and 6 % of the stablecoins in 2024, compared to respectively 8%, 4% and 5% of these assets last year. Bitcoin, the queen of cryptocurrencies, remains popular with 64% of French people, compared to 49% last year.

But the outlook for 2025 is more uncertain: 23% of French people plan to acquire cryptocurrencies in the future, down 3 points since 2023 and 6 points since the start of 2022.

“This decline can be explained by the doubts that bankruptcies and fraud (FTX, Genesis or BlockFi) can give rise to and a macroeconomic context partly reducing available savings,” underlines the report consulted by BFM Crypto.

More than 32 billion euros invested

Interesting figure: the French invested between 32.5 and 42.5 billion euros in cryptocurrencies in 2024, up 60% compared to 2023. “The average exposure remains stable compared to last year , between 4,650 euros and 6,000 euros,” the report indicates.

Crypto holders are increasingly younger: 57% are under 35 years old (compared to 50% in 2023). Furthermore, a gap has widened between men who hold 70% of crypto-assets compared to 30% of women in 2024 (compared to 64% and 37% in 2023). Among the motivations of the French to invest, 46% are looking for financial returns, 34.4% see them as a safe haven (compared to 30% in 2023). Likewise, the ideological reason for holding cryptocurrencies is increasingly mentioned, with the French recognizing them as “other uses beyond investment”.

Delay caught up in Europe

Still according to this report, 80% of crypto holders made fewer than two transactions per month, compared to 88% last year. Likewise, 26% of French people say they are in favor of payments in cryptocurrencies, up 5 points compared to 2023.

Finally, France has caught up compared to other European countries (Germany, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom) in terms of holding cryptos.

“This is the only country where adoption is accelerating compared to last year, and in which the number of people resistant to crypto-assets is decreasing,” indicates Faustine Fleuret.

However, France remains at the bottom of the ranking. In 2024, 11% of Italians own crypto-assets, compared to 12% of Germans, 16% of the British and 17% of the Dutch.