Week 4: How Do People Use Bitcoin? (Part II)

Over the past two weeks, we’ve explored:

• Who owns bitcoin

• Where they are

• How bitcoin compares to other assets

• And what people are doing with it—saving, spending, or both

But this week, we turn to the most human question of all: Why?

Why are people around the world choosing bitcoin?

The answers aren’t singular—they’re layered, diverse, and deeply personal. When people choose bitcoin, they’re choosing new ways to move, to protect, to belong—often outside the limits of old systems.

🥇 The Top Reasons to Own Bitcoin (If This Were the Olympics…)

This week’s data is fascinating not just for what it shows—but for what it contrasts.

Yes, “Investment Opportunity” was the top reason for owning bitcoin in 17 out of 25 countries, and ranked in the top 3 for all but 6. But those 6 countries? Each had a different #1 reason.

This signals something powerful: behind the investment narrative lie stories of freedom, curiosity, inflation, remittances, and more.

Bitcoin isn’t one story. It’s dozens.

📍 Personal Motivations: A Closer Look

🇺🇦 Ukraine

76.79% of respondents cited personal freedom as their top reason for choosing bitcoin.

🇵🇱 Poland

68.11% said they were motivated by curiosity—a desire to explore and understand something new.

🇮🇳 India

90.54% selected investment opportunity, but a striking 83.48% also pointed to sending or receiving funds internationally—highlighting a more functional, cross-border use case.

These small, specific snapshots are just the tip of the iceberg. Behind every statistic is a set of lived conditions and felt needs.

🪙 A Tale of Two Economies: Venezuela & Brazil

🇻🇪 Venezuela

• Top motivations were to hedge against inflation (86.98%) and guard against currency depreciation (84.97%).

• These choices reflect deep economic instability and limited access to trustworthy financial tools.

🇧🇷 Brazil

• Respondents pointed to diversification (84.10%) and personal freedom (82.34%), alongside investment.

• This reflects a broader theme across many countries where bitcoin is seen as one more option in a relatively stable financial portfolio.

Though geographically and geopolitically proximate, these two countries show just how differently the same tool can be used depending on lived reality.

📊 When Investment Isn’t the Only Story

While “investment” may be the most common motivation, it’s not always the most dominant. And even when it is, it often moves in tandem with other reasons.

A deeper look reveals:

• In many countries—🇧🇷 Brazil, 🇸🇻 El Salvador, 🇵🇭 the Philippines, 🇿🇦 South Africa—investment and personal freedom often rise together.

• In others—🇮🇩 Indonesia, 🇱🇧 Lebanon, 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia, 🇺🇦 Ukraine—the reasons diverge, hinting at more fractured or uniquely shaped narratives.

You can also see national enthusiasm emerge:

• India ranks high across multiple reasons.

• Poland, while curious, shows lower relative motivation across categories—perhaps signaling uncertainty or hesitancy despite interest

🧭 Takeaway: Bitcoin as a Mirror

Bitcoin isn’t just an asset. It’s a mirror.

It reflects what people feel is missing from the systems around them—whether that’s access, stability, trust, mobility, or control.

Across 25 countries, we found 8 distinct motivations that showed up in at least one country’s top 3. That kind of diversity isn’t random—it’s shaped by each country’s unique cultural, economic, and historical conditions.

Understanding why people adopt bitcoin helps us understand the unmet needs they’re trying to fill.

🔜 Coming Next Week: What holds people back?

Next week, we explore an essential follow-up: barriers to adoption.

Until then, all our open-source research is available at: 🔗 www.cornellbitcoinclub.org