Crypto assets in Austria: robust evidence from HFCS wave 5 on ownership, motives and portfolio implications

Summary

In Austria, 161,000 households (3.9%) hold crypto assets (median value: EUR 3,000). A typical crypto asset owner is rather young, male, educated and urban. Most owners entered crypto asset markets a few years ago, with new entries peaking during the COVID-19 pandemic. About 80% of Austrian crypto asset owners hold bitcoin and roughly 40% hold ether. The 2023 Austrian Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) featured a crypto asset module. The results are the basis for the estimates we present in this paper.

Highlights

Limited prevalence of crypto assets in Austria 
3.9% of Austrian households hold crypto assets. Holders are mostly male, and younger and more educated than the average household. Their crypto asset holdings rarely exceed 20% of their total financial assets. There is no evidence that debt-financing of crypto asset purchases is widespread. 

Part of asset portfolios, not a payment device 
Among the motives crypto asset owners cite, investment, speculation and following a social trend dominate. Holding crypto assets to make payments is a rare motive. Systemic risks from direct household exposure to crypto assets appear limited, but behavioral risks and peer dynamics merit monitoring. 

Better data on crypto assets’ role in the economy 
Including crypto assets in carefully crafted regular household wealth surveys offers a rich source of unique data that are essential for seeing households’ crypto asset holdings in a balance sheet context. They go way beyond what data from blockchain, online flash surveys or institutional reporting can offer.