Crypto Adoption in France 2023: Diving Into the Crypto Investing Landscape

The People’s Exchange KuCoin is delighted to reveal the latest Into the Cryptoverse survey findings, this time looking at crypto investors in France.

The 12th report in this series provides interesting trends that reveal the current state of France’s crypto market, how France-based users perceive digital assets, what they invest in this asset class for, and emerging opportunities in the French crypto market.

As the crypto market continues to evolve globally, France is no exception. The interest in crypto assets and their adoption is rising among French investors, particularly the younger generations. They are optimistic about the potential of crypto for mainstream adoption, especially as a payment method.

KuCoin's survey shows a strong interest in crypto among French users, particularly Gen Z, who are the most active and recent adopters. Despite being relatively new to crypto, 40% of Gen Z crypto investors in France have joined in the last six months.

The motivations for investing vary across generations: Gen X and Y view crypto as a wealth generator and portfolio diversifier, while Gen Z seeks quick returns and enjoys the thrill of digital assets, also using them for NFT purchases and payments. The survey suggests a need for more formal crypto education, as most users rely on friends, family, or social media influencers rather than official courses or guides.

The report is based on a survey conducted by KuCoin in May 2023 involving 500 adult crypto investors in France aged between 18 and 60. According to the survey results, crypto investors account for roughly 8% of France's adult population.

The lion’s share of French crypto investors is Gen Y (26-39 years old), accounting for 46% of users. Gen X (40-60 years old) comes in a somewhat close second, contributing 35% of crypto investors in France. Interestingly, Gen Z (18-25 years old) accounts for the remaining market share, making up 19% of crypto investors in France.

When looking into the crypto investment experience of French users, the data shows a mix of both new entrants and experienced investors. A significant percentage of users (31%) have less than six months of experience, indicating a recent influx of new participants. On the other hand, 28% of respondents have been active in the crypto market for 1-2 years, while 23% have been involved in crypto investing for more than three years.

A fascinating insight from the survey shows that French investors increasingly consider crypto a long-term investment. 50% of all crypto investors surveyed by KuCoin in France believe that cryptos can help them realize their long-term wealth accumulation plans. The second most popular reason for turning to crypto was a way to diversify investment risks, as 37% of participants highlighted. This was followed by 29% of investors considering crypto as a store of value against inflation amid high economic uncertainty.

26% of French crypto users also consider crypto a convenient way to transact. Other popular reasons for turning to crypto as an investment class include wanting to get overnight and because they think it is fun. Gen Z takes the lead in these use cases, with 38% and 23%, respectively, seeing crypto as a way toward overnight riches or having fun.

Our survey reveals that the French love to explore several use cases for their crypto holdings. While crypto trading reigns supreme for 35% of overall users, other popular uses for crypto include buying NFTs (26%), paying for entertainment and travel (25%), and shopping online (23%).

Gen Z seems the most active in using cryptos for a multitude of reasons, taking the lead in trading (38%), acquiring NFTs (34%), paying for entertainment or travel (36%), and shopping online (28%).

However, in terms of other use cases, such as using a crypto credit card, paying or receiving salaries, or making charitable donations, we see considerable interest among Gen Y investors in using crypto too.

When initiating their exciting journeys into crypto, 44% of all participants started after their friends and family members introduced them to the asset class. Of these, 49% of Gen X made their foray into cryptos thanks to friends and family.

The Gen X group of investors has also been quite meticulous about learning crypto investment by following tutorials. These two have been the most popular way to enter the crypto investing world across other age groups.

However, regarding savvy Gen Z investors, many users have also indicated that they learned about crypto investing from social media influencers (35%) and online communities (31%). Gen Y investors were highly interested in learning about investing in crypto from other crypto traders, as revealed by 30% of investors in this age group.

Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, is the undisputed leader in participants’ target crypto portfolios. It remains an especially popular choice among Gen X investors, with 73% of respondents from this group indicating that they are most interested in investing in BTC. Other popular crypto assets that feature among the potential portfolios of crypto investors in France include Ethereum, NFTs, metaverse projects, and meme coins.

There is an almost uniform distribution of interest in these categories among Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z users. However, at 41% each, Gen Z has the highest interest in Ethereum and NFT projects, closely followed by Gen Y. 39% of Gen Y prefer Ethereum. In comparison, 33% were interested in crypto assets associated with NFTs.

As one of the top five global cryptocurrency exchanges, the Into the Cryptoverse series of surveys by KuCoin offers valuable insights into crypto investing worldwide and the various trends in what and how investors use their crypto assets. It provides other crypto investors, businesses, and the overall industry a way to understand the vibrant crypto community in key markets and how market trends constantly evolve as crypto as an asset class matures and gains higher acceptance across generations.

Read the full report here: Into the Cryptoverse: Understanding Crypto Users in France

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Launched in September 2017, KuCoin is a global cryptocurrency exchange with its operational headquarters in Seychelles. As a user-oriented platform focused on inclusiveness and community action reach, it offers over 700 digital assets. It provides spot trading, margin trading, P2P fiat trading, futures trading, staking, and lending to its 27 million users in 207 countries and regions.

In 2022, KuCoin raised over $150 million in investments through a pre-Series B round, bringing total investments to $170 million with Round A combined, at a total valuation of $10 billion. KuCoin is currently one of the top 5 crypto exchanges according to CoinMarketCap. Forbes also named KuCoin one of the Best Crypto Exchanges in 2023. In 2022, The Ascent named KuCoin the Best Crypto App for enthusiasts.