60% of crypto investors are young, educated and invest under $10K — Survey

A new survey by onchain analytics company CryptoQuant revealed that over 60% of cryptocurrency investors are aged between 25 and 44 years old. 

Released on Jan. 15, CryptoQuant’s “2024 Crypto Survey: Exchange Use and Investor Behavior” highlights that 35% of users are aged 25 to 34, while 26% fall within the 35 to 44 age range.

The report also showed that crypto investors tend to be highly educated, with nearly 50% holding a bachelor’s degree and 28% having advanced degrees.

The crypto space remains predominantly male, with 89% of respondents identifying as male and only 11% as female.

Most respondents reported investing less than $10,000 annually, underscoring the dominance of retail investors in the market. Regionally, Asia leads with 40% of users, followed by Europe at 29% and North America at 10%.

When making investment decisions, 22% of investors rely on their own research, while 16% turn to social media influencers or key opinion leaders. Friends, community recommendations and media outlets have less of an impact on investment choices.

Spot trading continues to dominate the crypto space, with 76% of users prioritizing it over derivatives or staking. Only 28% took advantage of earn products like staking and yield farming.

Binance tops the charts

Binance emerged as the most preferred cryptocurrency exchange, with 53% citing it as their primary platform. It also ranked highest for profitability, with 51% of users reporting their largest gains came through Binance. Additionally, 48% of respondents said they hold most of their assets on the exchange.

Other platforms, such as Bybit, OKX and Bitget, were more popular among full-time traders, while part-time traders favored Coinbase and Kraken. Regionally, Binance dominates in Asia, Africa and South America, with usage rates exceeding 50%. Coinbase leads in North America, where 45% of respondents use it as their primary exchange.

The survey also found that 83% of participants monitor or avoid exchanges with regulatory issues. Binance was seen as the most compliant by 32% of respondents, followed by Coinbase at 14%. 

Bitcoin and layer-2 solutions dominate interest

Bitcoin remains the most sought-after cryptocurrency, followed by Ethereum, layer-2 scaling solutions and decentralized finance (DeFi). 

Bitcoin BTCUSD is also the top choice for generating profits, preferred by 18% of users. Ether ETHUSD, Solana SOLUSD and XRP XRPUSD follow closely.

”The focus on top-tier cryptocurrencies highlights the continued dominance of blue-chip assets, emphasizing trader confidence in established projects while limiting risk exposure to less-known tokens,” the CryptoQuant survey stated.

The findings are based on responses from 17,566 participants, according to CryptoQuant.