Cryptocurrencies take second place in the ranking of preferred investment assets among French adults. The top ten financial instruments among local investors also include non-fungible tokens (NFT).
According to a survey conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) at the request of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), France’s main financial regulator, cryptocurrencies are the second most popular type of investment asset among the country’s adult population.
The study found that about 24% of French people invest in a particular type of financial asset. Of these, 9.4% own cryptocurrencies, slightly lower than the popularity of real estate funds, with 10.7% of local investors investing in them.
The ninth place in the ranking of preferred investment assets in France was occupied by non-fungible tokens (NFT), which are owned by about 2.8% of local investors. Owning unique digital tokens turned out to be more popular than buying exchange-traded funds (ETF) and warrants.
The survey also revealed that the popularity of cryptocurrencies and digital assets among French investors has grown since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. At that time, a new group of investors emerged in the country, consisting overwhelmingly of men under the age of 35. Around 54% of this group of individual investors own some type of crypto.
However, the OECD analysts also found that the younger generation of investors have relatively low levels of financial literacy. For example, French people aged 18 to 24 who invest in one or another type of digital asset gave incorrect answers to basic investment strategy questions more often compared to traditional investors of the older generation.
The survey was conducted in the spring of 2023 with the participation of 1,056 French respondents between the ages of 18 and 60.
Last year saw strong growth in the number of registered digital asset service providers (DASP) in France, and this year, local merchants and service providers received the opportunity to accept payment in cryptocurrencies.
