The summer of 2025 proved a good one for the crypto market, and, according to reports, the percentage of UK adults holding at least one type of cryptocurrency rose to 24%.
Cryptocurrency is increasingly being adopted into our daily lives. Payments made through cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are often available online, and some stores even accept in-person payments via Bitcoin. There are several benefits to paying with Bitcoin as opposed to traditional payment methods.
Players can, for instance, remain anonymous while playing at an online casino if they make their payment through cryptocurrency. Transactions are also immutable, the blockchain transparent, ensuring fairness and hindering tampering. Accessibility is another factor – Bitcoin, and most other cryptocurrencies, don’t have borders and are available to anyone as a decentralized technology that does not adhere to KYC requirements. (Source: https://99bitcoins.com/best-bitcoin-casino/)
The report about the increase comes from Gemini, a US-based crypto exchange. In their latest report, Global State of Crypto 2025, they report that UK ownership jumped significantly in the span of a year:
“In 2025, 24% of respondents in the UK said they were invested in cryptocurrency, up from 18% in 2024. It was the biggest year-over-year jump of any of the nations surveyed. It was also the second-highest ownership rate recorded, trailing only Singapore (28%),” the report says.
Unsurprisingly, it’s the younger generations that are most likely to own crypto. Around half of the Millennials and Gen Z respondents in the survey reported owning or having owned cryptocurrency.
Another stereotype that rings true is that the crypto scene is male-dominated. Still, the gap is slowly closing. In 2024, 30% of UK respondents who owned cryptocurrency were female – in 2025, this figure increased to 33%.
The UK – unlike the EU’s MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) – still lacks a national regulatory framework for cryptocurrency, although the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) has been conducting studies and developing a plan for implementing one. Both the FCA and the Bank of England have issued warnings about the risk of crypto investment, although this doesn’t seem to have deterred British nationals too much.
So, where does the spike come from? According to Gemini’s Mark Jennings, it’s a reflection of the UK as a central financial hub. As the market is maturing, it’s bound to become an integrated part of the UK economy.
A study from 2023 also cited motivations like interest in learning about crypto (31%), a long term investment (28%), seeing other people win in crypto (23%), recommendations from others (21%), positive performance of the crypto market (20%) and fear or missing out (18%).
While concerns persist regarding volatility and the inherent difficulty of regulating a decentralized financial system, the FCA is responding to the growing interest and developing a plan to regulate crypto in the near future.
“We want to develop a sector that embraces innovation and is underpinned by market integrity and consumer trust. We’re committed to working closely with the Government, international partners, industry, and consumers to help us get the future rules right,” Matthew Long of FCA said last year about the upcoming regulations.
