In 2017, the majority of Bitcoin traders in the Netherlands were 34 years or younger. Bitcoin, cryptocurrency and initial coin offerings (ICOs) was in the news quite often in 2017. It is difficult, however, to get an insight in the full size of the Bitcoin market in individual countries as the digital currency focuses on privacy. In the first three quarters of 2017, there were
around 44,000 transactions in Bitcoin from the Netherlands on trading platform BTC Direct, one of the few domestic platforms for this purpose in the country.
Curiosity and earnings drive investment motivations
As Bitcoin reached the news often in 2017, approximately 60 percent of the households in the Netherlands who invest in cryptocurrencies
started doing so in that year. In 2018, almost 40 percent of respondents indicated in an open answer that their
main motivation to start investing in digital currencies was to earn money. Other important drivers include curiosity about blockchain or to find an alternative for saving due to low interest rates.
Bitcoin not as popular as in the rest of Europe
The Netherlands is behind the European average regarding the ownership of Bitcoins or similar digital currencies. When asked why people were not owning these cryptocurrencies, the Dutch indicated they were
either not interested or did not trust the concepts behind it.