• JP Morgan has released a new report showing that more than 13% of the American population have transferred funds into crypto accounts.
• The research sampled 5 million customers with checking accounts, 600,000 of whom had transferred money into a crypto account.
• Most new investors first fund a crypto account during spikes for Bitcoin price, according to the report.

Nearly 44 million Americans have ever transferred money into a crypto-related account, according to details shared in a new report by JP Morgan.

In a report titled ‘The Dynamics and Demographics of US Household Crypto-Asset Use’, released on 13 December, the financial giant estimates that about 13% of the population has sent money to a crypto account. Per the bank’s data, involvement in crypto by the general population spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, with more money finding its way into cryptocurrency investments as individuals’ personal savings also increased.

The report covered close to 5 million active checking account users, more than 600,000 of whom were shown to have transferred funds to crypto accounts.

Transfers to crypto accounts tripled between 2020 and 2022

Cryptocurrency adoption across the United States has been steady, with other statistics suggesting similar adoption rates to what’s contained in this latest report.

While JP Morgan says that only a tiny fraction of the US population was in crypto five years ago, its researchers found that the last three years have witnessed a huge jump in adoption. From the sample indicated, the banking giant estimated that crypto users in the US increased from a pre-pandemic population share of less than 3% to almost 15% by mid-2022.

Of those to fund crypto accounts from their checking accounts, the research data shows a 300% spike. Cumulatively, only 3% of the population had transferred funds into a digital asset-related account prior to the pandemic. 

That figure more than tripled in the last three years, with the trend seeing more than 43 million Americans, or 13% of the population funding crypto accounts.

New investors increase when Bitcoin price spikes

Another observation from the research is that funding of crypto accounts is that the transfers have largely come at a time when the price of Bitcoin is going up. Large volumes occur during bull markets or sharp rallies, with the trend going back to 2015, JP Morgan said.

For most new users, the deposits span a few days and have coincided with the price of bitcoin seeing a trailing monthly change of +25%. It is this time that many people look to trade Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Also observable is that most investors only make small transfers to their crypto accounts – less than a month’s pay. Indeed, the median transfer for the majority of investors is $620. Nonetheless, about 15% of individuals transfer more than a month’s worth of income. The share is even higher among high-income individuals.