REPORT | Only 4% Own Crypto, Attributed to a Cautious Stance by Banks, Says Central Bank of Denmark

Only 4% of Denmark’s population (200, 000 citizens) owns cryptocurrencies, a figure unchanged since 2023 and significantly below adoption levels in other European countries, according to a new survey by the central bank.

When the same survey was conducted in 2023, the share was also 4% despite international attention given to crypto assets globally. The central bank attributed the low adoption in part to a historically cautious stance by Danish banks toward crypto assets as well as earlier tax treatment that may have discouraged investment.

The study by Danmarks NationalBank (the Central Bank of Denmark), based on responses from more than 3,013 respondents aged 15 and above, found that most crypto holders maintain relatively small positions, typically below 10,000 Danish kroner (about $1,570). Total national holdings were estimated at between $317 million and $847 million.

The survey highlights Denmark as a laggard in crypto adoption compared with peers such as Norway, Finland and the United Kingdom, where more than 10% of the population holds digital assets.

Crypto ownership in Denmark is concentrated among younger and higher-income individuals, with participation declining sharply among older age groups. Most respondents said they view cryptocurrencies primarily as an investment rather than a means of payment, with limited use in everyday transactions.

Most crypto owners report that they hold their crypto assets with crypto asset service providers (CASPs), which, among other things, operate trading platforms and provide custody of crypto assets on behalf of customers, as chart 7 below demonstrates.

Most citizens in Denmark trade and hold their crypto-assets through CASP’s that are authorised and subject to supervision under the MiCA Regulation. Holding assets with a third party, such as a CASP or a bank, entails, among other things, requirements for the third party to carry out know-your-customer (KYC), antimoney laundering (AML) measures and to comply with rules on segregation and safeguarding of clients’ funds in accordance with the MiCA Regulation.

Only a smaller share report holding crypto-assets in their own wallet14, where custody takes place without the involvement of a third party.

Interestingly, exposure to crypto-related securities has nevertheless increased since 2023 reflected both in net purchases by citizens and rising market prices (see chart 10 below).

Much of the increase is accounted for by a small number of US listed companies with large bitcoin holdings, offering investors indirect crypto exposure without
direct trading in crypto-assets.

The increase has also been supported by listed data-centre companies engaged in transaction validation and the generation of new crypto-assets (‘mining’).

The increasing trend in ETF’s and ETP’s should be seen in the context of cryptoasset exposure having become more accessible in recent years through traditional financial products, primarily ETP’s. Since 2024, several large asset managers have introduced ETP’s on Danish and European exchanges that directly track developments in selected crypto-assets. More recently, major
Danish banks, including Danske Bank and Nordea, have chosen to offer their customers the possibility to trade these ETP’s via their own platforms.18 All else being equal, this development is expected to contribute to a broader uptake of these products over time.

Despite some growth in indirect exposure through crypto-linked financial products, overall exposure remains limited and is not seen as posing a significant risk to financial stability, the bank said.

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