국외연구자료 | KDI 경제교육·정보센터

KDI 경제교육·정보센터

Economic Information and Education Center

국제금융

Who owns crypto in the euro area? Drivers of crypto adoption, payment use, and its interaction with fiat cash

Using a survey of 39,507 adults in 17 euro-area countries, I find that crypto-asset owners and the niche subgroup of payers have distinct profiles. Owners？ typically younger, male, and financially active？ exhibit mixed preferences, valuing both cash-like privacy and card like speed. Crypto payers display a cash-centric profile, seeking to replicate physical cash’s privacy and ease of use in digital form. While standard specifications show that holding cash reserves is positively associated with owning crypto？ challenging the view that early adopters reject cash？, a multiple-instrument IV strategy exploiting pandemic-related payment shocks reveals a causal sign reversal: for compliers, building precautionary cash buffers reduces the probability of crypto ownership under uncertainty. These findings (1) explain the ownership payment wedge as driven by user profiles beyond merchant-acceptance frictions, (2) show crypto and cash act as portfolio complements but substitutes under stress, and (3) may inform crypto regulation and CBDC design.

ECB 2026.04.10

총 9,470 건