Driven by younger, tech-savvy investors interested in diversifying their investment portfolios, the UK population appears to be embracing crypto. Meanwhile, the nation’s crypto and web3 industry has had a solid year. Regulators have approved crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs), and the government has introduced a seemingly clear set of regulatory guidelines, potentially paving the way forward for improved access to various investment opportunities.
Gemini’s latest State of Crypto report revealed that almost one in four (24%) UK respondents now own crypto-assets, which is up significantly from 18% in 2024. And previously unreleased data indicates that the segment is young, has an interest in more sophisticated investment products, and is currently in search of more regulatory clarity.
However, these kinds of surveys are not always reliable or truly representative of a particular population. At best, they can give us a rough idea of what the crypto ecosystem looks like and who might be interested in actually making investments in digital assets.
As noted by Gemini in a blog post, here’s a breakdown of the UK data:
- 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 seemingly echoes the demand amongst the UK crypto ecosystem for clearer, forward-thinking regulations to be implemented, so the digital assets industry can continue to thrive..
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 carried out 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.”