Overview
- A Strategy& (PwC) 'Crypto Survey' of 2,500 investors in the US, Germany, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and the UAE shows most retail holders did not flee during January–February losses and many re-entered positions.
- Only about 17% of respondents reduced holdings during the January–February selloff, 20% increased positions, and nearly 36% sold then later bought back into the market.
- Two-thirds of those surveyed are small retail investors who had put at most $10,000 or €10,000 into crypto, a profile that limits individual household exposure but concentrates retail sentiment as a driver of demand.
- Bitcoin has fallen from a 2025 high above $115,000 to roughly half that value by early February and was trading below $61,000 in the recent reporting period, yet respondents on average expect far higher prices by 2030 (five-country average about $854,000; German average about $538,000).
- Study author Philipp Wackerbeck describes respondents as 'True Believers' who are shifting toward longer-term investment behavior, a pattern that could affect flows into ETFs, trading activity, and how quickly prices recover.