7% of Spaniards are crypto HODLers, says regulator

The top Spanish regulator – the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) – estimated that 6.8% of Spain’s adult population have invested part of their wealth in cryptocurrencies. Most of them were from the high income class, while those with lower salaries do not find the asset class so attractive.

Still, the Iberian nation is far behind other countries in terms of cryptocurrency adoption. A few months ago, a Gemini survey determined that Brazil and Indonesia rank as the global leaders.

How popular is crypto among Spanish?

The CNMV polled 1,500 adults in Spain to find out what proportion of them have allocated some of their money to the digital asset market. According to the results, 6.8% have already bought bitcoin or altcoins, while the percentage varies between different demographic groups.

Young, educated and well paid individuals are much more likely to be crypto investors. Almost 36% of people aged 35 to 44 admitted to being one, while only 7% of those between 55 and 70 have done the same.

In terms of education, 43.3% of crypto investors have a university degree, while 28% lack that level of scholarship.

Like other countries, most HODLers receive solid wages and have stable jobs. The CNMV found that 41% of those with paychecks above 3,000 euros have entered the crypto ecosystem, while 10.7% of Spaniards earning less than 1,000 euros have allocated some funds in the market.

Unsurprisingly, 66% of cryptocurrency investors in the Iberian country are men, while 34% are women.

Digital assets are considered a legal form of investment in Spain. At the same time, capital gains from the sale of cryptocurrencies are taxed in the range of 19% to 23% (depending on personal income).

Falling behind the leaders

Spain’s level of cryptocurrency adoption seems small compared to Brazil’s and Indonesia’s. According to a study conducted by the Gemini marketplace, 41% of people surveyed from these nations are HODLers.

It is worth noting that the economic crisis in Brazil and Indonesia is significant, while the majority of the population lacks basic access to financial services, which may explain the interest in the asset class. Buying cryptocurrencies can also be considered a hedge against inflation since the Brazilian real and the Indonesian rupiah have weakened recently.

Spain is also far away from leading economies, such as the US and the UK, where crypto adoption rates are 20% and 18% respectively.