French people are increasingly interested in cryptocurrencies and the share of those willing to buy this year has jumped to a third of the population, despite coin markets cooling down. However, they are yet to catch up with the much more crypto-hungry Italians, according to a recently published research.
Crypto adoption across the Old Continent has been largely driven by desire to diversify investments and by new use cases in payments and decentralized finance. But the sector’s growing legitimacy, owing to the rise of neobanks like Revolut, is now a major catalyst, too, claim the authors of the study.
French appetite for Bitcoin grows
Around 33% of French respondents in a new survey are planning to purchase crypto assets in 2025, marking a significant increase over the poll’s previous edition. The results of the research, which covers several European nations, were published just before the weekend.
The “Web3 and Crypto in France and Europe” study was conducted by the Association for the Development of Digital Assets (Adan), an organization uniting French players in the blockchain industry in efforts to promote the development of the sector in their country and beyond.
The annual report is based on feedback from 2,000 French residents as well as around 1,000 respondents in each of five other European nations. The authors also interviewed more than 80 French and European firms operating in the Web3 space.
With 10% of French people currently holding crypto assets, France is still behind the United Kingdom (19%), the Netherlands (17%), and Belgium (17%) in terms of adoption.
However, a 10-percentage point increase in appetite for coin investments, puts the French right behind the most bullish, the Italians, 37% of which feel Bitcoin is worth buying this year.
“Meanwhile, companies in the sector are showing solid ambitions and great resilience, despite persistent challenges related to financing and access to banking services,” Laurent Ovion, Adan’s president, was quoted as stating.
“While the proportion of French people holding cryptocurrencies is slightly declining, nearly a third of the population would be willing to acquire Bitcoin…Cryptocurrencies have never been of such interest to the French,” the business daily Les Echos wrote in an article.
🚀 Restitution de l'étude annuelle Adan sur le Web3 et les crypto en France et en Europe 🇫🇷 🇪🇺
Rejoignez-nous le 10 avril au Ministère de l'@Economie_Gouv en compagnie de Madame la Ministre @ClaraChappaz pour la présentation de notre étude annuelle, réalisée en partenariat avec… pic.twitter.com/6Khrq2rE81
— Adan (@adan_asso) March 17, 2025
Crypto sector’s growing legitimacy attracts investors
In its fourth edition, the study was carried out in partnership with the London-based professional services network Deloitte and the Paris-headquartered multinational market research and consulting firm Ipsos. Adan noted the goal of the initiative remains to “track the evolution of crypto asset adoption by the general public and analyze the dynamics of the Web3 sector.”
According to the authors of the report, 2024 has brought “a stabilization phase” to cryptocurrency adoption which does not undermine the growing public interest in France while growth confirms “a trend of democratization.”
They also point out that while crypto holders are “generally diversified investors, combining crypto assets with traditional savings products,” the industry’s growing legitimacy is also playing a positive role regarding adoption.
“The sector is gaining legitimacy, particularly due to the rise of new access channels like Revolut, which has become the second-largest acquisition platform (24% of users),” Adan emphasized in a press release announcing the publication of their research.
The association also highlights that use cases are multiplying, with 48% of the respondents holding favorable opinions on crypto in the context of decentralized digital identity, 24% approving it as a payments tool and 22% seeing opportunities for decentralized finance (DeFi). “These perspectives reinforce the perception of crypto assets beyond mere investment,” the researchers are convinced.
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