The Majority of Brits Are Likely to Buy Crypto in the Next Year

Driven by young, tech-savvy investors looking to diversify their investment portfolio, the UK population is embracing crypto. All the while, the UK crypto industry has had a landmark year. Regulatory authorities have approved crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs), and the government has released a clear , paving the way for increased access to investment opportunities.

showed that nearly one in four (24%) UK respondents now own cryptocurrency, up from 18% in 2024. And previously unreleased data shows that segment is young, has an interest in sophisticated investment products, and is still in search of more regulatory clarity.

Here’s a full breakdown of the UK data:

Young Adopters Seeking Further Investment

The UK recorded the youngest investor base out of the surveyed countries, which also included the United States, Italy, France, Singapore, and Australia. Nearly half (48%) of UK crypto holders are under the age of 35, compared with a global average of 41%.

Crypto owners in the UK were comfortable with adding crypto to their portfolio, with 88% saying that they are likely to allocate at least 5% of their assets to crypto. The majority of UK respondents reported being likely to purchase crypto in the next year, with 52% of all respondents saying they were likely to buy, which was five percentage points above the global average (47%).

Among those UK respondents who already own crypto, 95% said they were likely to buy in the next year, which was three percentage points above the global average (92%).

Interest in Sophisticated Products on the Rise

Demand for advanced crypto investment options in the UK is on the rise. The State of Crypto showed that crypto holders in the UK expressed the strongest appetite for crypto perpetual futures across the markets surveyed, with nearly half (48%) of UK crypto owners stating that they would invest in these products.

Whilst UK regulations currently limit crypto perpetual futures to professional traders, appetite for these products was still higher than in Italy and France, where these are widely available to all investors under MiFID licensing (41%).

Enthusiasm for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is equally strong. Despite crypto ETFs not being available in the UK, 51% of UK crypto owners were aware of them – the highest level of awareness among the European countries surveyed – where the average was 42%.

These findings indicate that demand for these products is high in the region. If the government moves quickly to make them available, the UK has the potential to emerge as a leader in the sector.

Ready for Regulatory Clarity

Digital assets have taken centre stage for the UK regulatory agenda this year. In early 2025, the UK government unveiled the ‘Regulatory Regime for Cryptoassets,’ a much-needed framework designed to regulate and grow the UK’s cryptoasset sector. Nevertheless, many have criticised these draft rules for taking too long to implement, and the UK seems eager to embrace a more structured regulatory regime.

This is reflected by the fact that 38% of non-owners in the UK stated that regulatory concerns have discouraged them from buying crypto. Similarly, the need for regulatory clarity is strong, with 39% of UK crypto owners saying that more comprehensive government regulation of crypto would be positive for the sector.

This echoes the growing demand amongst the UK crypto ecosystem for clearer, forward-thinking regulations to be implemented quickly, so the industry can continue to flourish.

Methodology

Gemini’s 2025 Global State of Crypto Report is based on a self-reported survey of 7,205 consumers in the US, UK, France, Italy, Singapore and Australia (approximately 1,200 consumers per country).

The survey was conducted online between March and April 2025 on behalf of Gemini by Data Driven Consulting Group, and respondents were aged between 18 and 75 years old.

Onward and Upward
Team Gemini