OSC Releases Crypto Asset Survey Results

Key takeaways

• As awareness and knowledge of crypto assets and investment funds increase, the desire to be a crypto owner is also increasing.
• Canadians view crypto assets as being a key component in the future of Canada’s financial ecosystem and are being more proactive in their risk management with crypto.
• Usage of crypto assets by owners has meaningfully increased.

Introduction

On July 28, 2026, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) released the results of a survey [PDF] regarding crypto asset developments in Canada in 2025. This blog summarizes the reported findings.

In 2022, the OSC launched an initiative to monitor developments in crypto assets in relation to investor experiences. Beginning in late 2025 through early 2026, the OSC conducted its third wave of this survey, with the intention of assessing Canadians’ overall knowledge of, engagement with, and sentiment towards crypto assets, as well as exploring new indicators for awareness of stablecoins and real-world asset (RWA) tokens.

In this third wave of their study, the OSC found that, in 2025, compared to 2023, overall usage and ownership of crypto among Canadians has increased, along with their awareness of crypto. While the uptake of stablecoins and RWA tokens has remained low, interest is high among those aware of these assets. With a higher proportion of Canadians believing that crypto will play a key role in our financial system, and seeking qualified opinions to justify that belief, the OSC’s findings indicate the prominence of cryptocurrency in Canada is only growing.

Methodology

The third wave of the OSC study was conducted as an online survey with a sample size of 2,360 Canadians aged 18 and over. The OSC, in partnership with Ipsos, leveraged a weighted evaluation mechanism to ensure the surveyed population reflected the general population of Canada in terms of gender, age, education and region.

For the purposes of this survey, the OSC defined relevant sample population classes as follows:

• “Investors” are those who currently own at least one investment product including securities, insurance or banking products, either inside or outside of an RRSP, RESP, RRIF or TFSA and/or crypto investment funds.

• “Non-investors” are those who do not currently own any investment products or only have investments through an employer’s pension plan or Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) or term deposits.

• “Crypto-owners” are those who owned crypto assets or crypto funds at the time of the survey. Specific assets constituting ownership included cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Dogecoin); stablecoins (Tether, Binance USD, CDN Coin, USD Coin); initial coin offerings, and Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Key indicators evaluated as a part of the study are as follows

• current ownership of assets or funds

• accurate awareness of crypto assets

• crypto asset familiarity

• key role of crypto assets currently

• key role of crypto assets in the future

• plan to purchase crypto assets in the next year

• recollection of crypto asset ads

Awareness and knowledge of crypto

In 2025, 59% of Canadians were able to correctly identify the definition of “crypto assets,” representing an increase of 5% since 2023. Those who correctly defined crypto assets tended to be investors, males and of higher income.

Overall, a higher proportion of crypto-aware Canadians indicates a higher rate of aggregate crypto-familiarity, supported by an increase from 27% in 2023 to 35% today. This degree of familiarity was especially apparent among current crypto owners where 69% indicated high familiarity with crypto assets. In contrast, 74% of those who have never owned crypto indicated low familiarity.

Heightened crypto-awareness is exemplified in that a majority of responding Canadians were aware that crypto assets are not government-backed and may be subject to cyberattacks, even if most did not have technical acumen about speed, records and ability to reverse transactions.

However, only 34% were aware of stablecoins, while only 24% were aware of RWA tokens. Further, only 11% reported having held or used a stablecoin. Similarly, the study revealed it is rare for Canadians to be aware of who is responsible for regulating cryptocurrency. Only 6% correctly indicated that crypto assets are regulated by provincial securities regulators, and only 9% correctly selected that the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) regulates crypto assets. A total of 11% incorrectly guessed that the Bank of Canada regulates crypto assets, while 24% incorrectly guessed that crypto assets are not regulated.

Uptake of crypto

The increase in crypto ownership among Canadians was even greater than the general awareness of crypto. A quarter of Canadians currently own crypto assets or funds, up from 10% in 2023, while 60% of asset owners and 53% of investment fund owners hold up to C$20,000 in crypto. Almost half of those who purchased crypto assets stored them on the exchange or trading platform from which they were purchased, with 35% using online crypto wallets, and a small minority using hardware wallets or manual private keys.

The most prevalent reasons for purchasing crypto assets were portfolio diversification, belief in crypto’s potential, and speculative investing. These reasons were also commonly cited for those who purchased crypto investment funds, along with a desire to profit more than a savings account. Of those who did not purchase crypto assets or investment funds, most cited a lack of understanding, fear of fraud and high levels of unjustifiable risk.

Cash savings continued to be the most common way to purchase crypto, accounting for more than half of crypto asset purchases. Those aged 18 to 34 were more likely to fund purchases in the absence of immediate cash savings, with 24% using a credit card, 15% selling their registered investments, and 14% borrowing money through a trading platform or investment firm. Overall, one in 10 asset owners made their purchases via debt.

While a similar proportion of those who bought crypto in 2025 compared to 2023 regretted their purchase, the majority of those who bought crypto continued to experience little to no regret, up 6% from 2023. A total of 28% reported no regrets at all with their crypto purchases.

Usage of crypto

The usage of crypto assets has broadly increased since 2023, most commonly used for cash conversions. Overall usage has risen from 20% to 28%, with the highest increases being among those who exchanged crypto assets for other assets, and those who use them to pay for other goods or services. Fewer purchasers have unsuccessfully attempted to sell their crypto, or failed to use the asset after purchasing it.

More than half of the survey respondents used crypto for at least one DeFi application, with the most common use being to earn money (yield) or rewards by contributing their crypto to liquidity pools. DeFi use has trended higher among those under age 35, most of whom use DeFi to earn money/rewards, but with significant portions also using them for NFTs or to borrow/lend crypto through a DeFi protocol.

There has also been a general uptick in stablecoin usage. The highest stablecoin usage was for crypto asset exchanges. Other stablecoin uses which have increased by more than 10% include: conversion to fiat currencies, earning money from lending stablecoin, and payment for other financial products. Stablecoins have also been used more broadly internationally, with 20% of respondents using them for international payments in 2025, compared to 14% in 2023.

Impacts on crypto ownership

While friends, family or colleagues continued to be the most common sources of information for prospective buyers, 22% sought information from a financial advisor, up from 13% in 2023. This increase may have had an impact on the higher ownership rates of crypto among Canadians. Four in 10 investors were recommended to purchase crypto assets by financial advisors, nearly double that in 2023.

However, advisors typically recommended investors allocate less than 10% of their portfolio to crypto, and the proportion of advisors who recommended their clients against purchasing crypto remained the same as in 2023.

Another potential explanation for the increase in crypto asset purchases is exposure to crypto-related advertising. More than half of respondents indicated they had seen advertising for crypto assets, with a higher volume of celebrity-endorsed advertisements encouraging crypto purchases via specific platforms. More investors also recall seeing reward offers on trading platforms for either buying assets, or for referring people to sign up.

Engagement with crypto-related activities

Crypto trading platforms continued to be the most common way to acquire crypto assets for Canadians. Almost 60% of those who acquired crypto did so via trading platforms such as Coinbase and Wealthsimple Crypto. While overall usage of platforms remained consistent when compared to 2023, a higher proportion reported using Crypto.com and Kraken (among other platforms), and usage of Bittrex, Coinberry, and Catalyx declined. Half of crypto owners checked whether their platform was registered with their provincial securities regulator, 12% more than in 2023.

Most users on these platforms did not encounter significant issues, declining 3% since 2023. However, 15% continue to experience issues which have resulted in financial loss, either by scam/fraud or via hacking. Hacking incidents left users particularly vulnerable. While most victims lost $10,000 or less, 31% of victims lost at least $60,000.

Alternate popular methods of crypto acquisition included decentralized exchanges (18%) or friends and family (18%). Remaining practices included mining/staking, token generation events, initial coin offerings, or acquiring crypto in exchange for goods and services. Owners aged 18 to 34 were more likely to acquire crypto in exchange for goods and services; more than double those aged 35 to 54, and four times higher than those aged 55+. This supports the proposition that practical applications of acquired crypto assets are more common for younger populations.

Attitudes about the future of crypto

While 43% of Canadians believe crypto assets currently play a key role in Canada’s financial system, 52% believe they will play a key role in the financial ecosystem in the future. These positive sentiments are most prevalent among younger populations, with 57% reflecting this view being under the age of 35, while those aged 55+ only made up 26%. Similarly, the retail sentiment on stablecoins remained positive at 63% in respect of stability and risk profile. This general increased belief in crypto’s role in the financial ecosystem coincides with continued confidence in traditional financial institutions like the Bank of Canada.

Such confidence may explain the finding that 30% of Canadians have high confidence in the ability to buy/sell crypto assets and funds, a significant increase from ~15%. A total of 38% of Canadians in 2025 indicated a high likelihood of purchasing crypto assets, up 18% from 2023. Additionally, 74% of those aware of RWA tokens would likely consider investing in them over the next annual cycle if their main bank or investment firm offered them. This is a notable contrast to confidence in the Canadian dollar, which dropped from 53% in 2023 to 51% in 2025.