Republicans buy crypto more than Democrats, data shows — what's driving the divide

Former US President Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, US, on Saturday, July 27, 2024. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Cryptocurrency adoption appears to have a political bent — and a significant gender divide. Republicans have adopted crypto with more gusto than Democrats in recent years, data shows, coinciding with President Donald Trump 's ascent to the White House for a second term in office and his broad support for — and involvement in — the crypto industry. About 22% of Republicans said they have invested in, traded or used a cryptocurrency such as bitcoin or ether , according to a Pew Research Center poll published June 8. By contrast, 17% of Democrats use crypto. Pew surveyed 8,512 U.S. adults at the end of January. "[Crypto] has always had a libertarian streak, and its early adopters tended to align with that ethos — skepticism of centralized power and government solutions," said Colin McLaren, the head of government relations at the Solana Policy Institute, a nonprofit that advocates for the crypto industry. "That ideological DNA maps more naturally onto the right's instincts, so it's not surprising to see Republican ownership tick up as the technology goes mainstream," McLaren said. More from Women and Wealth: A partisan divide recently emerged in investors' crypto usage, Pew found. …