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The Cornell University recently released a <a href="https://www.cornellbtcindex.xyz/findings" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">"Bitcoin Adoption Index" report</a> which revealed that a large number of Bitcoin owners don't reside in wealthy financial centers. Instead, they live in countries with unstable economies where there is little access to the <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/tag/us-dollar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">U.S. dollar</a>.
The survey-takers talked to&nbsp;25,880 respondents across 25 countries and found out that in terms of&nbsp;the share of all respondents to ever&nbsp;own Bitcoin, it's not wealthy places which reign supreme.
Instead, economies like El Salvador, Venezuela, and Nigeria topped the list when it comes to the share of all respondents to even own <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/bitcoin" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bitcoin</a>.&nbsp;
These three economies have been unstable where the national currency faced debasement,&nbsp;reliable banking is hard, and it's difficult to access&nbsp;the dollars.
<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/thestreet-com-and-roundtable-launch-tech-power-rankings-roundtable100" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Related: TheStreet.com and Roundtable Launch Tech Power Rankings, “Roundtable100”</a>
In&nbsp;El Salvador, 72% of the respondents admitted to owning Bitcoin at least for some time. The figure stood at&nbsp;44% for both Venezuela and&nbsp;Nigeria.
The Cornell survey revealed that Bitcoin is a lifeline is these dollar-starved, unstable economies where the top cryptocurrency&nbsp;functions less as a speculative bet and more as a practical workaround.
<h2 id="high-awareness-low-ownership">High awareness, low ownership</h2>
Far more people are aware of Bitcoin today than earlier. 90% of the respondents said they have heard of Bitcoin. The figures for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/ethereum" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Ethereum</a> (ETH) and <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/tag/dogecoin" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Dogecoin</a> (DOGE)&nbsp;stood at 48% and 38%.
However, ownership still remains modest. Only 30% of the respondents admitted to ever owning Bitcoin. Only 13% currently own it, and 17% held it earlier but don't own it any longer.
As per Cornell, the awareness regarding&nbsp;Bitcoin's technical details&nbsp;is "shallow." Only 13% of those aware of Bitcoin know its supply is capped at 21 million coins. 58% said they "don't know" about its maximum supply.
<figure><a href="https://www.cornellbtcindex.xyz/findings" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><img src="https://www.thestreet.com/.image/c_fit%2Ch_675%2Cw_1200/MjI1OTU5MDI5MTExNzkyNjcx/screenshot-2026-09-03-202122.png" height="403" width="1200"></a>
 <figcaption>
 % saying each reason is "important" or "very important", Source: Cornell Bitcoin Adoption Index
 </figcaption>
</figure>
<h2 id="trending-on-thestreet-roundtable">Trending on TheStreet Roundtable:</h2>
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</ul>
<h2 id="investment-and-risk-perception">Investment and risk perception</h2>
Among Bitcoin owners, investment opportunity (79%) and personal freedom (73%) are the most cited reasons for holding it. Among non-owners, the top reasons are a lack of interest (37%) and unaffordability (26%).
49% of the respondents see Bitcoin as riskier than gold.&nbsp;46% of them consider it riskier than real estate.&nbsp;46% of them consider it riskier than the U.S. dollar.
<figure><a href="https://app.decibel.trade/trade/BTC-USD" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"></a>
 <figcaption>
 BTC/USD, Source: <a href="https://app.decibel.trade/trade/BTC-USD" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Decibel</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Bitcoin was trading at $80,745 at the time of writing, <a href="https://app.decibel.trade/trade/BTC-USD" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">as per Decibel</a>.

Cornell survey reveals lifeline in dollar-starved economies

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