According to a study published by the European Central Bank on Tuesday, May 24, one in ten European households has invested in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. This highlights the desire for these high-risk investments that have been the victims of a dramatic plunge in prices.

These assets are attractive to individuals, even those in lower social strata. However, they "are worth nothing" as they do not depend on any "safe haven", said Christine Lagarde, president of the monetary institution.

According to a study by the ECB in six countries - Belgium Germany Spain France Italy Italy the Netherlands, Spain France France Italy and Spain - "Up to 10% of households could have cryptocurrencies" in Europe. This varies depending on the country studied. It can be as low as 6% in France or as high at 9% in Germany, and almost 15% in The Netherlands.

Private investors are most likely to report having less than EUR5,000 in cryptoassets. However, there is a slight predominance among small holdings (i.e. Below EUR1,000 On the other hand, 6% of respondents say they have invested more that 30,000 euros.

Another lesson is that while high-income households tend to have more cryptocurrencies, lower-income households do not own them as often as middle-income families. A typical investor is a young man who has a lot of knowledge and education in the financial world.

The study will be included in the half-yearly financial stability report, which will be published Wednesday. This comes after the ECB has recently pleaded for global regulation in this new sector, which poses a risk to household finances in particular.

Despite market volatility, the global market capitalization for cryptoassets was more than 2.5 trillion euros at 2021's end. This is seven times higher than the previous year. According to the study, there are currently more than 16,000 cryptocurrencyassets on the market today. Ten new cryptoassets are launched every day.