This study conducted by Adan and KPMG takes stock of the Web3 and Crypto landscape in Europe and its applications in industry.

Nearly one in 10 French people own cryptos, and more than a quarter may acquire them in the next few years. This represents a significant increase of 20% on our previous study. This development confirms the growing interest of the French in digital assets despite a tumultuous year 2022 for the financial markets and the crypto-asset sector.

At the same time, numerous applications are emerging, across all industries. More and more companies are adopting Web 3 as a strategic model to address their innovation challenges and new customer demands.

This adoption, by both individuals and industries, illustrates once again the major challenge for France to position itself at the centre of the development of these Web 3 and crypto-asset technologies.

 

Context

For the second year running, ADAN has commissioned KPMG France's Blockchain & Cryptos teams to carry out a study on Web 3 and crypto in France and Europe.

For this second edition, our objectives are to update the figures on the level of adoption by the general public, to explore new areas, adding a European dimension; and to offer an overview of the different applications existing in the industries.

The data on adoption in France and Europe is based on a survey conducted by the IPSOS polling institute. The survey sample is similar to that of the previous edition: it covers a population of 1976 French respondents over the age of 18. Additional samples have been added to this edition in order to position adoption in France in relation to other European countries such as Germany, the UK, Italy and the Netherlands. The samples vary between 1097 and 1134 respondents for the four countries. The age of respondents ranged from 16 to 70 in Germany, the Netherlands and Italy. The UK differed, with the upper limit at 75.

The second part, analysing opportunities by sector, is based mainly on the experience of our Blockchain and Crypto teams and on public data.

 

Web 3 and crypto in France and Europe: adoption confirms growing interest in crypto-assets

Awareness of crypto-assets has continued to rise: 85% of French people say they have already heard of cryptocurrencies, a clear 9% increase on our previous edition and in line with the other countries surveyed: UK 87%, Germany 87%, Netherlands 81%, Italy 88%.

At the beginning of 2023, almost 1 in 10 French people will be holding crypto-assets, and more than a quarter of French people may consider acquiring them in the future.

In Europe, the Netherlands has the highest rate of current holders at 14%, compared with 12% in the UK, 11% in Germany and Italy and 9% in France. France therefore has a lower rate of holders than the other European countries consulted in the study.

The adoption of cryptos mainly affects a young (under 35) and predominantly male audience. While in 2021 more than one in eight French people aged between 18 and 35 (12%) owned crypto-assets, this proportion will rise to more than 17% in 2023. The vast majority of investors invest no more than 10% of their overall savings. Among the crypto-currencies preferred by those wishing to invest, bitcoin confirms its position as the leading crypto-currency preferred by users (64% versus 49% last year).

 

Web 3 and crypto applications in industry

The second part of this study explores the sectoral opportunities offered by crypto-assets and Web 3 technologies, and highlights the French companies whose activities are at the forefront of these new uses. Our analysis focused in particular on four sectors with particularly rich news (Finance, Energy, Culture and Luxury). The aim of this section is not only to inspire the players in these industries, but also to address public decision-makers with a view to putting France at the centre of the Web 3 technology revolution.

The convergence between traditional finance and the digital assets industry is intensifying. Financial institutions see this as an opportunity to position themselves in a market that is in the process of being structured, by offering new products and services (custody, investment, etc.) or by using these technologies to digitise existing financial products (tokenisation, etc.).

At the same time, as France, like much of Europe, plunges into an energy crisis in 2022, players in the energy sector are also seeing opportunities arising from use cases linked to the development of underlying infrastructures (networks, data centres, HPC, etc.).

Culture and entertainment, and particularly art, are among the first industries to be impacted by the emergence of non-fungible tokens (NFT), a source of numerous opportunities for players in the sector.

Lastly, digital assets provide the luxury sector and brands with numerous tools for rethinking customer engagement and relationships. The concept of digital scarcity, introduced by NFTs, has a particular resonance in the world of luxury and opens the way to a multitude of use cases.