Crypto adoption in Ireland is down over 16% in the last year

The number of crypto investors in Ireland has declined slightly over the past year, or so it seems according to recent data from Finder.com.

The report revealed that cryptocurrency adoption in the island nation has fallen by around 16.6% over the past year. Among Irish adult internet users surveyed, 10% own cryptocurrency, up from 12% in 2021.

Finder crypto scholar James Edwards said such a small drop is actually a positive shock given the state of the bear market.

“We saw huge declines in the price of Bitcoin in early May and June and while we saw a reduction in the number of people holding cryptocurrency, it’s not as bad as expected.”

Edwards says the data suggests that despite the massive sell-off, the small drop in the number of holders signals both hodlers and even more buying at discounted rates.

The survey also highlighted the predominance of Irish male investors over female investors, with 72% of holders surveyed being male. This gender gap is in line with the reality of the entire crypto space, which is heavily male-dominated.

This is slowly changing as the space continues to integrate with various global industries. According to BTCM’s Investor Research Report of 2021, the number of female investors entering the space increased by 126%.

Irish investors are the most fond of Bitcoin (BTC) with 35% ownership among local users. Next come Dogecoin (DOGE) (26%) and Ether (ETH) (23%).

Related: Dogecoin launches new update to improve security and efficiency

Generally, Ireland has been a friendly jurisdiction for cryptocurrency companies. Indeed, in October 2021, Binance established three subsidiaries in Ireland and a fourth in November.

Crypto exchange Gemini received its virtual asset provider license in Ireland on July 20 this year. Kraken and Ripple are two other crypto-centric companies that have chosen Ireland as their European headquarters.