A quarter of Canadians now own crypto, OSC survey finds

One in four Canadians now holds crypto assets or crypto funds, according to the Ontario Securities Commission’s latest survey. That’s up from 10% earlier in 2023, a jump that would be remarkable in any asset class, let alone one that spent most of last year recovering from a brutal bear market.

The numbers tell a clear story

Crypto awareness among Canadians has climbed to 59%. Some 52% of respondents now believe crypto assets will play a key role in Canada’s financial ecosystem. That figure sat at 34% in the previous survey wave.

The share of advised investors, meaning people who work with a financial advisor, who received a recommendation to invest in crypto nearly doubled. It went from 19% to 39%.

Despite the enthusiasm, portfolio allocations remain measured. Typical recommended crypto allocations are capped at 10% or less of an investor’s total portfolio.

Canadians are getting smarter about safety

Half of Canadian crypto owners now check whether their trading platform is registered with regulators before using it. That’s up from 38% in the prior survey.

Awareness of stablecoins sits at just 34% among survey participants, and only 24% know what tokenized real-world assets are.

The RWA opportunity hiding in plain sight

Among Canadians who are familiar with tokenized real-world assets, 74% said they would consider purchasing such tokens if offered by their primary bank or investment firm.

Canada was the first country to approve a Bitcoin ETF back in 2021, and the OSC has maintained an active registration regime for crypto trading platforms.

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