Crypto Adoption Flatlined As FOMO Turned Into Buyer’s Remorse in 2022

Very few people wanted to step into the minefield that was the cryptocurrency business in 2022.

That’s according to a blog post Monday by researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta analyzing a survey that showed the percentage of U.S. adults who owned cryptocurrency flatlined at 10% in 2022 after doubling each of the two previous years.

With headlines in 2022 dominated by crashing prices, crypto kingpins being arrested, and the downfall of the NFT fad, it’s little wonder that investors were reluctant to trade their cash for digital currency.

“This makes us think that the get-rich-quick allure of crypto speculation waned in the wake of the spring 2022 market crash,” researchers at the Atlanta Fed wrote in a blog post accompanying their analysis of data from the survey together with cryptocurrency prices. “Buyers’ remorse is real. Euphoria, anxiety, and regret all apply to crypto.”

To be sure, 2023 has been kinder to crypto investors. As of Monday, Bitcoin, the granddaddy of all cryptocurrencies, was worth about $26,521, up from $16,604 at the end of 2022, though still far below the peak of $67,617 it hit in November of 2021. 

However, few crypto investors appear to have pounced on lower asset prices as a growth opportunity, Atlanta Fed researchers Kevin Foster and Claire Green wrote in a note accompanying the survey.

“This is pretty much the opposite of Benjamin Graham’s investing philosophy, which sees weakness as a time to buy and strength as a time to sell,” the researchers wrote. ”In this data, crypto speculators appear to buy high and refrain from buying low.”