The Dutch feel crypto is an investment for the long term, while the French use it to pay for products

Recent research published by the European Union shows that there are significant differences between countries when it comes to their respective crypto use, but that adoption is still rising.

Crypto ownership among Europeans is also steadily increasing. Across the eurozone, ownership rose from 4% in 2022 to 9% in 2024. The final figure for 2025 is not yet known, but analysts estimate it will finish at around 11-12%.

Paris

The biggest European country where crypto is gaining ground is France. One in four people there now pays with digital currencies. Given the number of well-known crypto companies in the country, this isn’t surprising. France also made headlines this year due to the growing problem of crypto-crime. Family members of well-known crypto millionaires were kidnapped in broad daylight in Paris.

We are also seeing a continuing upward trend in the rest of the European Union.

The introduction of more and more European stablecoins (linked to the euro instead of the US dollar) is expected to further increase the use of digital currencies in the EU. According to the Financial Times, the influence of crypto has become so great this year that “stablecoins” is one of the words of the year for 2025.

Finally, despite both countries being among the lowest crypto ownership rates in the Eurozone, the number of people using cryptocurrencies primarily for investment is highest in the Netherlands (90%) and Germany (82%).