The Economic well-being of US Households, 2021 is Federal Reserve Board’s 9th annual survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, which was conducted in the month of October and November 2021 and was issued on May 23. This is the first time data on crypto usage was included in the subsequent survey. According to a Fed report, 12% of American adults possessed or utilised crypto in 2021. The report also highlighted that crypto is favoured as an investment instrument rather than a transactional one, with only 2% of adults using it for purchases and 1% transferring money to friends or relatives.
According to the report, American consumers are uninterested in mode of payment as money. They are largely investors rather than traders. During the survey, only 3% of Americans stated that they had paid in or transferred bitcoin in the preceding year. However, it was also mentioned that 46% of pure-play investors gained $100,000 or more through their crypto investments.
It was also revealed that Americans with low incomes were more likely to use cryptocurrencies for transactions. 13% of American adults who used crypto did not have a traditional bank account, and 27% did not have a credit card. Almost six out of ten bitcoin users make less than $50,000, with only 24% earning more than $100,000.
According to the Fed report, 6% of the US population did not have bank accounts, with black (13%) and Hispanic (11%) people having fewer bank accounts than the total adult population. According to the report, cryptocurrencies provide a relatively simple means for disenfranchised and unbanked people to have access to sophisticated payment systems.
A bull run in 2020 and 2021 saw the price of Bitcoin soar from $3,000 to $69,000, sparking worldwide interest in cryptocurrencies.
