Bitcoin adoption highest in El Salvador and Venezuela, Cornell report finds

Bitcoin adoption highest in El Salvador and Venezuela, Cornell report finds

Cornell University has found that Bitcoin ownership is highest in El Salvador, Venezuela, and Nigeria after surveying 25,880 people across 25 countries.

El Salvador recorded the highest share of respondents who had owned Bitcoin, followed by Venezuela and Nigeria. Economic instability and limited dollar access were common factors in countries with high ownership.

58% of respondents did not know that Bitcoin’s maximum supply is capped at 21 million coins. U.S. ownership reached 24%, although knowledge of Bitcoin’s supply limit remained low.

Cornell University’s Bitcoin Adoption Index found that people in countries with unstable currencies, limited banking access, or difficulty obtaining U.S. dollars were more likely to use Bitcoin as a financial tool rather than solely as a speculative investment. Researchers examined ownership, knowledge, trust, and usage across 25 markets.

Morning Consult conducted the 125-question survey between Dec. 16, 2024, and March 10, 2025, collecting responses from 25,880 participants. The study was commissioned by Cornell and developed with the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy’s Institute for Technology Policy, the Cornell Bitcoin Club, the Human Rights Foundation, and the Reynolds Foundation.

El Salvador led the ownership ranking, with 72% of respondents saying they had owned Bitcoin at some point, according to the Cornell Bitcoin Club’s published findings. Venezuela and Nigeria also reported high exposure despite facing different monetary and regulatory conditions.

According to the study, Bitcoin often works as a “pragmatic workaround” in economies where residents struggle to protect their savings, obtain dollars, or use reliable banking services. The researchers linked high ownership to local financial needs, including inflation, currency controls and limited access to international payment systems.

One Venezuelan respondent described Bitcoin as “faster, cleaner, and less risky” than other methods of obtaining U.S. dollars. Venezuela has long operated with an informal dollar market as residents seek alternatives to the bolívar and restrictions within the country’s financial system.

Separate data from TRM Labs supports the report’s description of digital assets as practical financial tools in Venezuela. TRM ranked the country 17th for retail crypto activity in the first quarter of 2026, estimating $17.9 billion in attributed volume. Its data showed that USDT accounted for 90.2% of active Binance peer-to-peer listings involving the Venezuelan bolívar in April.

While Cornell’s research focuses on Bitcoin ownership, the TRM figures show that dollar-linked stablecoins hold a larger role in current Venezuelan trading. TRM attributed the pattern to bolívar depreciation, capital controls, restricted banking access and the country’s established informal exchange markets.

In Nigeria, one participant told Cornell researchers that Bitcoin had reduced the financial difficulties of traveling across Africa. “I’ve visited six African countries and felt no worries because I knew I could spend Bitcoin,” the respondent said.

The index also found differences between ownership groups. Men were more likely than women to own Bitcoin in every surveyed country, while people aged 30 to 44 were the most consistent owners across the sample. Income produced a less-than-expected result. In 23 of the 25 countries, lower-income respondents reported the highest ownership