Survey: More Brazilians Invest in Crypto Than Stocks

A national survey found 17.2% of Brazilians have invested in cryptocurrency, outnumbering the 7.4% who have invested in the stock market and making crypto the fifth-most popular investment choice in the country.

The poll was conducted May 11–14, 2026 by Brazilian research firms Paradigma and Datafolha and was sponsored by Coinbase and Hashdex. Interviewers spoke with 2,004 people at fixed polling stations in 137 municipalities. The survey reports a 95% confidence level and a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

Respondents showed broad awareness of digital assets: roughly two-thirds said they know about cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin and ether were the most recognized tokens, while Drex, the central bank digital currency project, ranked third in familiarity. The survey recorded a 10 percentage-point increase in crypto awareness compared with 2025 and estimated about 29 million Brazilians have invested in digital assets.

Cryptocurrencies ranked fifth among listed investment options, trailing traditional savings accounts, real estate, cash kept at home and investment funds. Crypto investment exceeded the share of people holding fixed-income bank certificates (15.1%), foreign currency (14%), gold (9.8%) and stock market instruments (7.4%).

Adoption concentrated in lower-income households. More than 77% of respondents who reported investing in crypto said their household income was under three minimum wages, and over one-third of crypto investors reported incomes below a single minimum wage. The survey report used the phrase “moeda do povo” (the people’s coin) to describe crypto’s appeal among those groups.

Stablecoins were highlighted as a common use case, used as dollar proxies for cross-border transactions and payments. The survey also found rising public recognition of Drex, the central bank’s digital currency project.

On custody and access, banking infrastructure dominates. Eighty-three percent of crypto investors said they use bank apps or banking platforms to buy and hold digital assets. Self-custody wallets were used by 26% of crypto investors, and about 20% reported holding assets directly on exchanges.

The survey’s sampling approach aimed to capture a broad cross-section of Brazil’s population rather than focusing only on urban or high-income traders. The data show higher crypto participation among lower-income respondents and a strong role for banks and their mobile apps in acquiring and holding digital assets.