Bitcoin Adoption in the DACH Region: What Really Draws People to Bitcoin
New Study Examines the Motives Behind Bitcoin Adoption
Why are people interested in Bitcoin? What problems are they trying to solve with it? And why, despite its growing popularity, are so many others still not interested in the topic?
Peter Rochel, a strategy consultant and member of the German Bitcoin Association, explored these questions in a comprehensive study. The “Bitcoin Adoption Study 2026” is based on 35 in-depth interviews with Bitcoin users and non-users from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and examines the development of Bitcoin adoption over a seven-year period.
The results provide interesting insights into how people discover Bitcoin, what motivates them, and where adoption often falls short.
People don’t buy Bitcoin because of the technology
One of the study’s key findings is:
People are rarely interested in Bitcoin because they’re looking for a new technology. They’re interested in Bitcoin because they want to solve a problem.
For some, retirement planning is the main focus. Others are concerned with rising inflation, central banks’ monetary policy, or the question of how they can build and protect their wealth over the long term. Still others are seeking greater financial autonomy or want to hold their assets independently of banks.
In the study, Bitcoin therefore appears less as a technical product and more as a response to specific questions and challenges in people’s lives.
Most people do not feel an urgent need to take action
Another finding is likely to surprise many Bitcoin enthusiasts.
The study concludes that a large portion of the population neither actively rejects nor actively supports Bitcoin. For many people, Bitcoin simply plays no role in their daily lives.
The reason: People who are satisfied with their existing financial system and don’t feel any immediate pressure to address problems usually don’t look for alternatives.
According to the study, this is not a sign that Bitcoin has failed. Rather, it is typical of so-called market-creating innovations, which initially become relevant only to certain user groups before reaching broader segments of the population.
Trust is more important than marketing
Of particular interest are the findings on how people first come into contact with Bitcoin.
The study shows that successful Bitcoin adoption is often not driven by advertising or marketing. Personal connections, recommendations, and trusted contacts are much more important.
Many participants report that they first became seriously interested in Bitcoin through friends, acquaintances, colleagues, or mentors.
This is consistent with the experiences of many members of the German Bitcoin Association: Bitcoin is often not “sold” but rather discovered—usually when people begin to engage more deeply with topics such as money, wealth building, or economic developments.
Different People—Different Paths to Bitcoin
The study identifies several distinct groups of Bitcoin users.
These include, among other things:
- Entrepreneurs and Self-Employed Individuals
- wealth-oriented individual investors
- security-conscious self-custody users
- Savers Focused on Retirement Planning
- People who want greater financial independence
- institutional actors and banks
It turns out that these groups use Bitcoin for very different reasons. While some focus primarily on long-term value preservation, others are primarily interested in independence from banks or the ability to self-custody their assets.
The study thus makes it clear that there is hardly such a thing as “the typical Bitcoin user.”
Why Many People Decide Against Bitcoin Despite Their Interest
In addition to examining successful adoption pathways, the study also explores why people ultimately decide against Bitcoin.
Among the most common reasons are:
- perceived complexity
- Uncertainty Regarding Self-Custody
- Lack of trust in online services
- the decision to invest in traditional financial products such as ETFs
- internal obstacles within companies or financial institutions
What is particularly interesting here is the observation that it is not a lack of interest, but rather practical obstacles and uncertainties that often make the decisive difference.
What the Study Means for the Bitcoin Community
The Bitcoin Adoption Study does not provide price forecasts or investment recommendations. Rather, its value lies in helping us better understand how people make decisions and what factors lead them to Bitcoin.
This leads to an important insight for the Bitcoin community:
Anyone who wants to explain Bitcoin should focus less on the technology and more on understanding the questions and issues that people are actually concerned about.
Not everyone is interested in hash rates, mining, or cryptographic methods. Many people, however, are interested in asset protection, retirement planning, financial independence, or property rights.
That’s often exactly where the journey to Bitcoin begins.
Further information
Peter Rochel’s complete “Bitcoin Adoption Study 2026” spans over 120 pages and includes numerous case studies, buyer profiles, and detailed analyses of Bitcoin adoption in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
In addition, Peter Rochel presented the study’s findings in a detailed interview:
▶ YouTube interview on the 2026 Bitcoin Adoption Study:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJjEOV4Qgrw
The full study is available from Oberwasser Consulting.
