coindesk.com
The number of active crypto users among Bank of America (BAC) customers slumped more than 50% to fewer than 500,000 between November and May as the market crumbled from its highs, the second-largest U.S. bank said in a report Wednesday, citing internal data.
Among the broader population, the bank also found that sentiment toward cryptocurrencies soured between April and June this year as the market headed toward a record half-year loss. Surveys of 1,000 people showed 30% of those questioned in June hadn’t invested in crypto and had no plans to do so, up from 21% in April.
‘First time’ users of crypto fell sharply. Only about 33,000 clients transacted in cryptocurrencies for the first time in May, 87% down from almost 267,000 in October 2021.
BofA’s data show that flows into crypto platforms have tumbled as well, and are now broadly equal to flows out, indicating that consumers are pulling back their “net investment in crypto platforms,” it said.
For one-third of clients that were conducting crypto transactions, the data show only a single transaction, generally for smaller amounts. They account for only 5% of the dollar value of crypto transactions. A considerable 69% of clients who transacted in cryptocurrencies during the Covid-19 pandemic are no longer active, the report added.
Almost 70% of the U.S. population has not invested in crypto or is not interested in investing in cryptocurrencies, the note said, adding that it appears that many consumers have not participated in crypto markets and if anything their “inclination towards doing so has waned” in recent months.
The bank’s survey suggested that relatively few people view crypto assets as a “reliable long-term investment.”
Read more: Bank of America Says ‘Crypto Winter’ Concerns Haven’t Frozen Investor Interest