A high-level summary of the Ontario Securities Commission’s 2025 Crypto Assets Survey
On July 28, 2026, the Ontario Securities Commission’s (OSC) released its 2025 Crypto Assets Survey.[1] The report provides a useful snapshot of how Canadians engage with cryptocurrency assets at a time when digital asset markets are becoming more mainstream. Conducted as the third wave of the OSC’s cryptocurrency research survey, the 2025 survey examines four key categories:
1. awareness, ownership, and uptake of cryptocurrency;
2. investor knowledge and information about cryptocurrency;
3. engagement with cryptocurrency-related activities and platforms; and
4. attitudes toward emerging products, and Canadians’ expectations for cryptocurrency’s future role in the financial system.
These four areas provide the framework for the key takeaways discussed below. Together, they show that while Canadians are becoming more aware of and active in engaging with cryptocurrency assets, important knowledge gaps and investor protection concerns remain.
Awareness and Ownership Are Increasing
Both awareness and ownership of cryptocurrency assets have increased among Canadians. 59% of Canadians were able to correctly identify the definition of cryptocurrency assets, up from 54% in 2023. Ownership has also grown meaningfully: 25% of Canadians reported currently owning cryptocurrency assets or cryptocurrency funds, compared with 15% in 2023.
The survey also shows early but notable awareness of newer forms of digital assets. 34% of Canadians reported awareness of stablecoins, while 24% had heard of real-world asset tokens. Among those familiar with these products, interest appears meaningful, suggesting that Canadians’ cryptocurrency engagement is expanding beyond traditional cryptocurrency assets into more specialized digital asset categories.
Motivations Remain Mixed
The survey shows that Canadians who purchase cryptocurrency assets do so for mixed reasons. Common motivations include portfolio diversification, a long-term belief in the value of cryptocurrency assets and their underlying technology, and speculative interest. Similar themes appear in relation to cryptocurrency investment funds, where investors identified potential returns, speculation and diversification as key reasons for purchasing.
At the same time, the reasons Canadians give for avoiding cryptocurrency remain significant. Lack of understanding, concern about fraud or scams, perceived risk and volatility continue to be major barriers to adoption. These concerns are particularly important because they indicate that even as ownership rises, investor confidence and investor protection concerns remain central to the broader cryptocurrency discussion.
Knowledge Has Improved, but Gaps Remain
The survey suggests that Canadians’ knowledge of cryptocurrency assets remains uneven. Cryptocurrency owners tend to understand basic characteristics of cryptocurrency better than the general population, but the average Canadian still has limited knowledge of how cryptocurrency assets work and how they are regulated.
Sources of information are also changing. Friends, family and colleagues remain the most common sources of cryptocurrency information. However, more Canadians are now turning to financial advisors. In 2025, 22% of Canadians sought information from a financial advisor, representing a 9% increase from 2023. Among those with financial advisors, 39% reported that they recommend purchasing cryptocurrency assets, with recommendations generally focused on allocating only a small portion of a portfolio to crypto.
The survey also highlights ongoing investor protection challenges. Crypto-related advertising and notifications have become more common, particularly on social media, and also more broadly recognized. While more than half of Canadians understand that cryptocurrency assets are not backed by government and may be exposed to cyberattack risks, relatively few respondents were able to identify the relevant regulatory bodies involved in cryptocurrency oversight.
Engagement Is Becoming More Active
Cryptocurrency trading platforms remain the most common way for Canadians to acquire cryptocurrency assets. 59% of cryptocurrency owners reported using cryptocurrency trading platforms, while only 18% reported using decentralized exchanges. The most commonly used platforms included Coinbase, Wealthsimple Crypto and Crypto.com. Most cryptocurrency owners used cash savings to purchase cryptocurrency assets, and about half reported checking whether their platform was registered with a provincial securities regulator, an increase from 2023.
The survey also shows that cryptocurrency owners are not merely holding assets passively. Many owners have used cryptocurrency assets to convert to cash or exchange for other cryptocurrency assets. Stablecoin usage has increased by at least 10% since 2023, with common uses including asset exchange, cash conversion and earning yield. DeFi usage has also become more prominent, with 54% of cryptocurrency owners reporting that they have used at least one DeFi application, primarily to earn money.
Despite this growing engagement, the survey identifies continuing areas of consumer concerns. 74% of cryptocurrency trading platform users reported paying transaction fees, and 15% reported encountering significant issues on a platform, most commonly related to fraud, scams or hacking. One-third of cryptocurrency owners reported regretting their cryptocurrency asset purchase, a figure that remained similar to the 2023 survey.
Canadians Are More Optimistic About Crypto’s Future
The survey points to growing optimism about crypto’s role in the financial system. 43% of Canadians believe cryptocurrency assets are likely to play a key role in Canada’s financial system, a 17% increase from 2023. 52% believe cryptocurrency assets will play an important role in the future, an 18% increase from 2023. Younger Canadians, particularly those under 35, were more likely to hold positive views about cryptocurrency’s future role.
Interest in emerging products also appears strong among those who are already aware of them. 74% of Canadians aware of real-world asset tokens indicated that they would likely consider investing in them in the next year if offered by their main bank or investment firm. This finding suggests that Canadians may be more willing to engage with newer crypto-related products when they are offered through established financial institutions.
Summary
The OSC’s 2025 Crypto Assets Survey suggests that cryptocurrency assets are moving further into the Canadian investing mainstream, but that increased participation has not eliminated the need for investor education and protection. Awareness, ownership and optimism have all increased, and more investors are speaking with financial advisors or checking whether trading platforms are registered. However, persistent gaps in understanding, concerns about fraud and volatility, and platform-related risks show that somewhat broader adoption remains accompanied by meaningful investor protection issues:
[2] Ontario Securities Commission, Crypto Assets 2025 (July 28, 2026), “Summary of Indicators over Time,” p. 49.
The 2025 cryptocurrency survey results show that cryptocurrency is becoming more familiar and more widely used, but Canadians’ ability to evaluate its risks, protections and appropriate role within an investment portfolio continues to be an important regulatory and educational concern.
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The information and comments herein are for the general information of the reader and are not intended as advice or opinion to be relied upon in relation to any particular circumstances. For particular application of the law to specific situations, the reader should seek professional advice.
[1] The Survey Methodology used by the OSC is set out at slide 4 of their report.
[2] Crypto Assets 2025 Survey, slide 49.
