Bubbles in My Bitcoin: Results from the 2018 Bitcoin Omnibus Survey

• Activity Number: 63 - Cryptocurrency Surveys: Challenges and Results from Central Banks
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Sunday, July 28, 2019 : 4:00 PM to 5:50 PM
• Sponsor: Survey Research Methods Section
• Author(s): Gradon Nicholls* and Christopher Henry and Kim Huynh and Mitchell Nicholson
• Companies: Bank of Canada and Bank of Canada and Bank of Canada and Bank of Canada
• Keywords: Bitcoin; digital currencies; financial services; bank notes

Abstract

We examine trends in Bitcoin adoption and use in Canada based on results from three waves of the Bank of Canada's Bitcoin Omnibus Survey (BTCOS). The first wave was conducted in late 2016, as Bitcoin prices started to rise. The second wave was sampled as prices reached their all-time high in December 2017. The current wave was conducted in late 2018 as the price of Bitcoin reached its lowest point in over a year. We examine how ownership and awareness has evolved since 2016. Further, we delineate the main reasons for holding Bitcoin, specifically for transactional and speculative purposes, and ask Bitcoin users to rate the features of online payments that they view to be most important. Relevant to research on cash demand at the Bank, we measure cash holdings among Bitcoin owners and ask if they plan to stop using cash in the future. Finally, we examine the relationship between financial literacy and Bitcoin ownership using the "Big Three" literacy questions of Mitchell and Lusardi (2011).