Cryptocurrencies recover in the U.S., but gold remains the top priority

Cryptocurrency adoption in the United States rebounded in March after several months of decline, but retail investors still prefer gold and stocks over digital assets, according to a new survey by Deutsche Bank.

The bank’s monthly dbDataInsights survey, which covered 3,400 consumers across the U.S., the U.K., and the EU, showed that crypto adoption in the U.S. rose to 12% in March from a low of 7% in February, returning to levels last seen in July 2025. The recovery coincided with a moderate rise in Bitcoin prices and inflows of approximately $1.3 billion into institutional Bitcoin ETFs during the month.

In the U.K., adoption edged down slightly to 9% but remains elevated relative to long-term trends, while in Europe the figure held steady at 7%.

“In the first quarter of 2026, cryptocurrencies continued to face challenges amid macroeconomic and geopolitical shocks, with Bitcoin falling 22%. However, March saw some recovery supported by strong inflows into U.S. ETFs and a limited return of retail investors,” Deutsche Bank said in its report.

Despite the rebound, consumers across all three regions continued to favor gold and the S&P 500 when asked where they would invest new funds over a one- to three-year horizon.

Gold was the top choice in the EU (37%) and the U.K. (35%), while preferences in the U.S. were more evenly distributed: gold (26%), Bitcoin (24%), and the S&P 500 (29%) all attracted significant interest.

“Consumers continue to prefer the S&P 500 and gold over Bitcoin, although the gap is smaller in the U.S.,” the report said.

Nevertheless, Bitcoin maintained its dominance in the crypto space: around 70% of digital asset holders across all regions own it, significantly ahead of Ethereum and well above stablecoins such as Tether and USDC. It also ranked first as the preferred choice for future crypto investments in the U.S. (69%), the U.K. (56%), and the EU (53%).

The survey also revealed notably bearish sentiment regarding Bitcoin’s short-term price outlook. Most respondents said they had no idea where Bitcoin would trade by the end of 2026, and among those who ventured a guess, most expected the price to be below the current level of around $75,000.

Only 3% of U.S. respondents predicted a return to the record high of $120,000, with similarly low figures in the EU (1%) and the U.K. (4%).

See also: "Bitcoin falls as traders monitor tensions around Iran"

#crypto currencies #Gold

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