- An Ontario Securities Commission survey of 2,360 Canadians found 25% own crypto assets or crypto funds, up from 10% in 2023 and 13% in 2022.
- Half of crypto owners checked whether their trading platform was registered with their provincial securities regulator before buying, against 38% in 2023.
- 49% of Canadians could not say who regulates crypto assets, and 24% believed it is not regulated at all.
Twenty-five per cent of Canadians own crypto assets or crypto funds, according to an Ontario Securities Commission survey published on Tuesday, up from 10% when the regulator last asked in 2023.
The reading comes from the third wave of the OSC’s Crypto Asset Survey, run with Ipsos among 2,360 Canadians aged 18 and over, with fieldwork between 18 December 2025 and 22 January 2026.
Ownership sat at 13% in 2022 before dropping to that 10% low, which puts the current reading at roughly double the pre-slump level. Moreover, awareness climbed across all three waves, with 59% of respondents correctly identifying what a crypto asset is, up from 54% in 2023 and 51% in 2022.
Among Canadians who already hold investments, 39% own some form of crypto product, rising to 44% among self-directed investors, and fifty-nine per cent of owners acquired crypto through a centralised trading platform, against 18% who used a decentralised exchange.
Just under half leave their holdings on the platform they bought them from, 35% use an online wallet and 8% use a hardware wallet. Fifty-five per cent paid with cash savings, and about one in ten used debt, including 10% who drew on unsecured lines of credit or personal loans.
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Large Number Unaware of Deposit Insurance and Regulatory Oversight
Half of owners who bought through a centralised platform confirmed it was registered with their provincial securities regulator first, up from 38% in 2023. Canadians aged 18 to 34 checked most often, at 62%, against 37% of those aged 55 and over.
Forty-nine per cent of respondents said they did not know who regulates crypto assets and 24% said it is not regulated, with 9% naming FINTRAC and 6% naming their provincial securities regulator.
Only 38% knew that crypto savings accounts carry no CDIC deposit insurance, down from 42% in 2023, and 53% knew crypto assets are not government-backed, also down.
Read more: Blockchain Activity Climbs Despite Falling Crypto Prices, Bitwise Says
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