Switzerland's Crypto Use Is Double Germany's, Study Finds

A recent study by Bearingpoint highlights a significant gap in cryptocurrency adoption between Switzerland and Germany. The survey, conducted by YouGov between June 18 and June 29, polled over 4,000 adults across Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. Switzerland leads with 23% of adults using crypto at least occasionally, compared to Germany’s 11% and Austria’s 18%. The findings underscore how regulatory frameworks and ecosystem development influence adoption rates.

Switzerland’s advantage stems from its early adoption of clear regulations. The country’s Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Act, fully effective since August 2021, updated existing financial laws to accommodate tokenized assets, providing legal certainty for businesses. This fostered the growth of Crypto Valley, a blockchain hub spanning Switzerland and Liechtenstein, which now hosts 1,749 active companies—a 132% increase since 2020. Zug remains the epicenter with 719 firms, supported by clusters in Zurich, Geneva, and other regions.

The survey also measured attitudes: 37% of Swiss respondents view crypto as a worthwhile investment, versus 28% in Austria and 23% in Germany. Additionally, 45% of Swiss see digital assets as potential international reserve currencies, compared to 32% in Germany. Switzerland also showed higher openness to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), with 44% willing to use a digital franc, versus 29% in Germany.

Germany, while lagging in retail adoption, is leveraging its banking infrastructure to close the gap. Cooperative banks under DZ Bank and savings banks under Dekabank serve approximately 80 million customers. DZ Bank’s ‘meinkrypto’ platform, launched in late 2025, offers bitcoin, ether, litecoin, and cardano through the VR Banking App. Dekabank is building a similar platform for the Sparkassen network, expected to roll out through 2026. These integrations remove the need for separate crypto exchange accounts, potentially accelerating adoption.

Despite Germany’s distribution scale, Switzerland benefits from years of accumulated expertise and a concentrated ecosystem. The study indicates that digital assets are being added to traditional finance habits rather than replacing them, with high trust in fiat currencies and gold persisting. Future Bearingpoint surveys will track whether Germany’s bank-led strategy narrows the gap.

Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/crypto-news/switzerlands-crypto-use-is-double-germanys-study-finds/