Crypto
What is cryptocurrency, how does it work – and what’s the point?
Cryptocurrency has been around for more than 15 years, and there is more than £1.8 trillion-worth of the stuff floating around on the internet.
Yet for all the tales of rows and riches that have engulfed crypto in recent years, not that many people can tell you what it actually is.
Even fewer can answer the simple question: what’s the point?
The PA news agency breaks it down.
– What is cryptocurrency?
Crypto is a type of digital money designed to be used over the internet. It does not exist physically, like dollars or pounds.
There are many types of crypto, but you have probably heard of the biggest and oldest one: Bitcoin.
Invented in 2008, a Bitcoin is essentially a computer file which is stored on an app, which functions as a digital wallet. There are many of these apps on the market.
You can send and receive crypto with other people – and it is frequently traded for money. Lots of it.
– How does it work?
Bitcoin is decentralised. That means it is not managed, recorded or stored by any one entity, like a national government or a bank.
Instead, every record is logged on a shared list called a blockchain.
Think of it like an online spreadsheet which no single person controls. Instead, it is shared around people who use it all over the world.
Those people get small financial rewards for keeping the ledger accurate and up-do-date. It is immutable, which means it is virtually impossible to go back and edit previous entries (or “blocks”).
This makes it attractive to people who want to break free of traditional currencies, and the influence that governments, central banks and financial institutions hold over them.
– What’s the point?
While there is a small, growing number of places that accept crypto as a real-world payment method, you’ll struggle if you try to use it to pay for most goods and services in the UK.
But the fact that you do not need to use a bank means that you can use crypto to operate outside the traditional financial system.
This appeals to people who want to send money across borders often, for example, where intermediaries often take a cut on transactions using traditional money.
It also makes it easier to act anonymously. Many crypto service providers do not have the same identity checks as banks.
As a result, it is generally harder to track where crypto has come from or where it is going than traditional currencies.
Unfortunately, that means criminal gangs or even terrorists often use it to launder money. Crypto is also sometimes used to transact illegally with sanctioned countries like Russia.
– Why do some people like it so much then?
Many people love crypto because it is extremely volatile, meaning you can make vast amounts of money very quickly by trading it at the right time.
One whole Bitcoin in October 2023 was worth about £27,000. Just a year later, that has nearly doubled.
Now consider if you had bought dozens of Bitcoins a decade ago, when they were valued at about £260, and you can see why some people are evangelical about it.
In that sense, it is different to investing in traditional assets, like stocks and shares, which are generally much more stable.
– Is it a safe investment?
No. Crypto has already been through several monumental boom-and-bust cycles already, which have done huge amounts of harm.
Millions of people put their life savings into cryptos like Bitcoin thinking it would make them better off.
But huge crashes in value in 2018 and 2022 left people’s finances in ruins – and the fact that it is still relatively unregulated means there have been a lot of scams.
The most high profile was in 2022, when FTX, the crypto exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, collapsed.
Mr Bankman-Fried was later sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding customers out of billions of US dollars.
So while Bitcoin is near its record price again now, it is still generally considered extremely risky.
As the old adage goes: never invest more than you can afford to lose.
Key Takeaways
- Top 100 institutional bitcoin holders now control nearly 1.26 million BTC, although Strategy alone accounts for more than two-thirds of that total.
- Mining firms, technology companies, private enterprises, and treasury vehicles are using bitcoin to diversify reserves, hedge inflation risk, and signal long-term conviction.
- The data shows broad institutional participation, but holdings remain highly concentrated among crypto-native firms and one dominant corporate buyer.
Bitcoin Treasuries Are Turning Scarcity Into Strategy
Institutional bitcoin accumulation has grown dramatically, with the top 100 holders now controlling 1,258,090 BTC as of June 8, 2026, according to a chart published on X by HODL15Capital. This group includes public companies, private firms, mining operators, and treasury-focused entities, reflecting specialized corporate allocations alongside one dominant buyer.
At the top of the list, Strategy holds exactly 845,256 BTC, far surpassing every other entity. Twentyone Capital follows with 43,514 BTC, and Japan’s Metaplanet holds 40,177 BTC, showing that institutional BTC accumulation is global and spans multiple industries. Marathon Digital contributes 35,303 BTC.
The size of Strategy’s lead reveals how uneven the race has become. One company controls more bitcoin than the rest of the top 100 combined, turning corporate treasury policy into a marketwide talking point. For investors, that concentration makes Strategy one of the clearest equity-market proxies for BTC exposure.
Other major names on the chart include Coinbase, Riot Platforms, Tesla, Spacex, Cleanspark, Block, Galaxy Digital, American Bitcoin Corp., and Hut 8. That lineup makes the trend easy to understand: bitcoin is no longer only a crypto-sector balance sheet bet. It now reaches miners, exchanges, technology firms, private companies, and treasury vehicles.
The BTC Concentration Across Sectors and Borders
The global spread of BTC holders is as notable as the headline total. Metaplanet’s top ranking shows adoption is no longer U.S.-centric, with participants from Japan, Canada, Europe, and Asia signaling worldwide corporate and institutional demand for bitcoin.
The supply angle is what makes the chart matter beyond crypto circles. The top 100 holders control more than 6% of bitcoin’s maximum 21 million supply, giving a singular corporate buyer a highly visible role in market liquidity. For shareholders, that creates both upside potential and sharper exposure to crypto-driven swings.
Overall, the chart illustrates a highly centralized institutional concentration of bitcoin reserves. The focus is no longer just who holds the most, but how BTC has become a balance sheet battleground, with companies using treasury positions to signal conviction, attract investors, and position themselves in a more bitcoin-integrated financial landscape.
Even after years of buzz, the use of cryptocurrency has remained fairly stable in the United States. Today, about one-in-five U.S. adults (19%) say they’ve invested in or used a cryptocurrency – about on par with the 16% who said this in 2021.
But for the first time, there is a partisan gap in use. Republicans’ crypto use has ticked up from 16% in 2021 to 22% today, and they are now more likely than Democrats to say they’ve used it, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in January 2026.
Crypto has become part of the national political conversation in recent years. The Trump administration has set out to make America the “crypto capital of the world,” including steps to allow crypto firms to become banks.
Who uses cryptocurrency?
Some of the biggest demographic differences in cryptocurrency use are by gender, age and income.
Men under 50 stand out for being crypto users; Republicans are more likely to use it than Democrats
% of U.S. adults who say they have ever invested in, traded or used a cryptocurrency such as bitcoin or ether
* Estimates for Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.
Note: White, Black and Asian adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanics are of any race. Family income tiers are based on adjusted 2024 earnings.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Jan. 20-26, 2026.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Men under 50 stand out for being crypto users; Republicans are more likely to use it than Democrats
% of U.S. adults who say they have ever invested in, traded or used a cryptocurrency such as bitcoin or ether
| Demographic | % | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. adults | U.S. Adults | 19 |
| Men | Gender | 27 |
| Women | Gender | 11 |
| Ages 18-29 | Age | 26 |
| 30-49 | Age | 28 |
| 50+ | Age | 10 |
| Men 18-29 | Male and Age | 38 |
| 30-49 | Male and Age | 40 |
| 50+ | Male and Age | 14 |
| Women 18-29 | Female and Age | 15 |
| 30-49 | Female and Age | 17 |
| 50+ | Female and Age | 6 |
| White | Race/Ethnicity | 18 |
| Hispanic | Race/Ethnicity | 19 |
| Black | Race/Ethnicity | 20 |
| Asian* | Race/Ethnicity | 25 |
| Upper income | Income | 27 |
| Middle income | Income | 20 |
| Lower income | Income | 16 |
| Rep/Lean Rep | Party | 22 |
| Dem/Lean Dem | Party | 17 |
* Estimates for Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.
Note: White, Black and Asian adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanics are of any race. Family income tiers are based on adjusted 2024 earnings.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Jan. 20-26, 2026.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
By gender and age
As was true in past surveys, young men stand out for their use of crypto:
- 38% of men ages 18 to 29 say they have ever invested in, traded or used cryptocurrency, compared with 15% of women in the same age range.
- 40% of men ages 30 to 49 have done this, compared with 17% of women in this age group.
Crypto use among men and women ages 30 to 49 has gone up since 2021. And men 50 and older are also more likely to have ever used crypto today than in 2021.
By income
About one-in-four adults in upper-income households (27%) have invested in or used crypto, up from 23% in 2024 and 17% in 2021.
By comparison, 20% of middle-income Americans have used crypto, up slightly from 17% in 2021. Use has not changed among lower-income Americans (16% this year vs. 15% in 2021).
By party
Republicans are now more likely than Democrats to have invested in, traded or used crypto (22% vs. 17%). Before this year, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents were as likely as Democrats and Democratic leaners to say they’d done so. But GOP crypto use has grown from 16% in 2021 to 22% now, while Democrats’ use has held steady at 17%.
By race and ethnicity
A quarter of Asian adults say they have ever invested in, traded or used crypto – which is similar to Black and Hispanic adults. White adults remain less likely to be crypto users than Asian adults but are on par with Black and Hispanic adults for the first time. This is partially due to crypto use among White Americans ticking up from 13% in 2021 to 18% today.
For more about Americans and cryptocurrency, read our 2024 analysis, which has information on:
Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis, the topline and the survey methodology.
Key Takeaways
Trump Says the Deal Is ‘Almost Complete’
The rally followed remarks in which Trump framed the agreement as a near-certainty and signaled he would push it through with or without Israel’s full cooperation. Speaking about Netanyahu, the president said the Israeli leader will have “no choice” but to sign because, in his telling, he “calls the shots.”
Trump described the deal as “almost complete” and said he expected an announcement at the start of the new business week, with traders treating the language as a firmer commitment than the ceasefire speculation that has come and gone for months, and risk assets reacted within hours.
Analysts first flagged the price reaction, noting bitcoin’s 5% jump to $64,000 came directly on the back of the comments, indicating that the market read the statement less as a rumor and more as a direct signal that Washington intends to close the matter regardless of how Jerusalem responds.
A Bounce off the 2026 Low
The surge marked a sharp turn from the prior week as Bitcoin touched an intraday low near $59,100 on June 5, its weakest level since February (during what Bitcoin.com News described as the worst week of 2026 for the asset). At the lows, more than half of all BTC sat in unrealized loss, a condition that has historically lined up with major market bottoms.
Short-term chart readings had already pointed to an oversold market primed for a snapback, leaving the rally needing only a catalyst. The geopolitical headline supplied it. Even after the move, bitcoin remained roughly $18,000 below the $82,000 record it set in mid-May, underscoring how much ground the recent decline erased.
The recovery offered relief to leveraged traders after a brutal stretch of forced selling earlier in the month. Hundreds of thousands of positions were wiped out as the price slid, and a swift reversal of that kind often triggers a wave of short liquidations that amplifies the upside.
Geopolitics Back in the Driver’s Seat
Bitcoin’s sensitivity to Middle East headlines has been one of 2026’s defining patterns given that earlier in the year, the digital currency’s topped $77,000 as Trump weighed his options on Iran, while prediction-market wagers on a peace deal swelled into the hundreds of millions of dollars. De-escalation signals have repeatedly lifted risk appetite, and threats of conflict have pulled it back down.
Crypto tends to trade as a high-beta risk asset in these episodes, selling off harder than equities when fear spikes and rallying faster when it eases. That makes bitcoin an unusually sensitive barometer of how traders price the odds of war or peace, even when the headlines have no direct link to digital assets.
The same tensions had been a drag in recent weeks as higher oil prices tied to the standoff have fed inflation concerns and complicated the Federal Reserve’s rate path, with some officials declining to rule out further hikes and expected cuts being pushed back. That backdrop helped drag crypto lower before Sunday’s rebound.
Analysts caution that headline-driven rallies can fade quickly and only a confirmed agreement could sustain the move. Collapse in talks or a fresh exchange of fire risks sending the price back toward its recent floor. The Fed’s stance remains a second swing factor that could cap any extended recovery.
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