Data Proves US Light Years Ahead of Europe in Cryptocurrency Adoption

Bitcoin’s price has largely been on hold since mid-June, and the asset has traded in a range since then. BTC/USD is holding above $29,000 with resistance at $30,000. The market appears to be waiting for the SEC to approve a spot bitcoin ETF.

In fact, one measure of bitcoin price stability hit a five-year all-time low in early August. Oddly enough, Bitcoin has even been less volatile than U.S. stocks this month.

But with each new application for the bitcoin spot ETF, the bullish pressure on the bitcoin chart intensifies. Institutional investors are investing in blockchain with an ETF product they can understand and a Tradfi partner they can trust.

The list of Bitcoin spot ETF applications is long and growing. When the first approvals arrive, market watchers expect a sharp rise in exchange prices.

US dominates global crypto ETF trading volume

Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, noted in a recent (Twitter) X thread that “every one of the 15 best-performing equity ETFs this year is crypto-related.” Additionally, Balchunas added, a spot bitcoin ETF would enable North American cryptocurrency ETF trading volume accounts for 99.5% of the global market.

What's really shocking is that, first of all, this number has reached 97.67%.

ETFs are the preferred way for institutional and Tradfi participants to gain access to blockchain exposure. This shows that U.S. investors are far ahead of European Tradfi companies and baby boomers in taking disruption of the cryptocurrency industry seriously.

US Tradfi participants more open to blockchain

By this metric, the difference in openness to blockchain and cryptocurrencies between the U.S. and Europe is striking. Despite the jaw-dropping returns, seasoned European investors have almost entirely abandoned crypto ETFs.

One of the factors contributing to this large delta is Americans' greater appetite for risk in both business and financial investments. This is backed up by research, which found that:

"People living in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands are the most risk-averse, while those living in the US, Turkey, Australia and the UK are more risk-tolerant."

Another factor may be how well traditional American values of personal liberty and private property fit with blockchain’s free market.

Cryptocurrency businesses and advocates in the Eurozone may be able to have more success promoting the industry’s products by emphasizing how the industry’s products align with the values of fairness, social justice, and progress.