Survey Shows More Americans Now Own Bitcoin Than Gold

A new national survey by the Nakamoto Project shows a major change in investment preference among Americans from Gold to Bitcoin. 

This survey signals a notable shift in American financial behavior. Notably, Gold has long been regarded as a reliable store of value and a hedge against inflation, often held by older or more conservative investors. However, the data suggests that Bitcoin is rapidly becoming more widely adopted.

According to the data, approximately 50 million Americans own Bitcoin, whereas around 37 million own gold.

Blockchain firm River, which also contributed to the surveys, provided additional data points to support the findings.

U.S as Global Bitcoin Leader

River positions the United States as the global leader in the Bitcoin ecosystem, with Americans estimated to hold over $790 billion in Bitcoin—about 40% of the global supply.

U.S. public firms account for 94.8% of institutional Bitcoin ownership, while the country contributes 82% of development funding and attracts nearly 70% of venture capital in the sector. The U.S. also leads in ETF ownership with a 79.2% share and controls 36% of the global Bitcoin hashrate. 

Since 2021, American companies have mined $42.6 billion in Bitcoin and invested over $30 billion in domestic mining operations, employing more than 20,000 people across 150+ firms.

Also, the U.S. hosts over 40 large-scale mining facilities and more than 150 company headquarters. Government Bitcoin holdings stand at 198,000—more than any other nation—surpassing the UK’s 61,000 and China’s 15,000.

Survey Methods and Surprising Recommendations

Meanwhile, another Nakamoto Project’s survey, conducted in partnership with Qualtrics, sampled 3,345 Americans between late February and mid-March. According to the results, 4 in 5 Americans recommended converting some portion of gold reserves into Bitcoin.

Troy Cross, Chief Editor at the Nakamoto Project, addressed skepticism surrounding the findings. He acknowledged that many might assume such results came from a biased sample, such as a Bitcoin conference audience. 

Many of you are skeptical of our finding, released this morning that 4 in 5 Americans would convert some US gold reserves into bitcoin.

"Yeah right! You must have done your survey at a bitcoin conference!"

We were also surprised too. But the results are the results.

The… pic.twitter.com/JzaBGwdfBq

— Troy Cross (@thetrocro) May 19, 2025

However, he emphasized that the sample, composed of 3,345 respondents collected online in partnership with Qualtrics, closely matched U.S. Census demographics in age, race, gender, income, and geography. Data collection occurred between late February and mid-March.

Cross reported that survey participants responded to a specific prompt asking what percentage of U.S. gold reserves should be converted into Bitcoin, using a slider from 0% to 100%.

According to him, the results were unambiguous: four out of five respondents supported at least partial Bitcoin diversification. The median recommendation was 10%, while the average reached 20.3%. Respondents were reluctant to choose a 100% gold allocation, signaling an openness to Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Sentiment Mirrors Broader Market Developments

Cross pointed to additional results tied to current events. During the survey period, following a March 2 tweet by Donald Trump proposing a Strategic Crypto Reserve, respondents were also asked whether they supported such a move. 

Although the official executive order had not yet been issued, 66% expressed a neutral-to-positive view. This reaction, according to Cross, indicated a growing familiarity and comfort with the idea of Bitcoin as part of national reserves.

Analysts Point to Institutional Deleveraging as Bitcoin Trails Gold

Meanwhile, broader market analysts continue tracking Bitcoin’s performance compared to gold. On CNBC’s Squawk Box, Fundstrat Managing Partner Tom Lee discussed Bitcoin’s underperformance earlier this year.

He attributed the sluggish start to forced liquidations by institutional investors, particularly during weekends. Lee believed that with deleveraging behind, Bitcoin could close the performance gap with gold.

Lee also referred to Bitcoin’s previous high around $110,000, suggesting that it still has room to recover. Host Joe Kernen recalled Anthony Pompliano’s claim that Bitcoin typically trails gold before surpassing it roughly 100 days later. Lee agreed with the overall pattern, indicating that Bitcoin tends to follow gold’s upward movement with a delayed but stronger rally.

Today, Bitcoin trades at $106,504, showing a 1.45% increase in the past 24 hours and a 2.76% rise over the past week. Gold remains just above $3,309.