A new study reveals that UK retail traders bought more Bitcoin in April after countrywide lockdown had seen purchases drop by 50% throughout March.
UK-based fintech company, Revolut, has provided data showing that users on its crypto trading app bought less crypto in mid-March even as Bitcoin crashed to new yearly lows.
The dip in Bitcoin buying and trading among Revolut’s UK customer base also coincided with the British government’s introduction of lockdown measures to help combat the spread of COVID-19.
Crypto purchases dropped 58%
Revolut has over 10 million users in the UK and throughout Europe. Of these, over 3 million use the app to buy and trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple, and Litecoin.
As Europe went into full lockdown, weekly purchases of crypto by UK retail traders alone dropped 58%, which represented an average drop of about £540 to £230 ($663 to $280), according to Decrypt.
At the same time, customers who use the app to trade crypto reduced their activity by 50% in that second half of March.
Crypto buying and selling surged in April
Although March saw the impact of the lockdown contribute to the dip, the scenario was much different in April.
With Bitcoin prices having recovered nearly 50% at the time, from lows of $3,800 to trade above $7,000, confidence among Revolut’s UK users began to show.
By April 20th, traders were doing on average 57% more in purchases while trading rebounded 68%.
Similarly, while the average amount spent on crypto trading had dropped by 52% in March, data reveals that traders spent 63% more on trading cryptocurrencies the following month.
Overall, the study shows that selling among app users increased 38% between the last weeks of April to the first week of May, with sell order size also increasing by 13% over that same period.
Bitcoin remains the most popular
Unsurprisingly, Revolut discovered that Bitcoin dominated as the most traded cryptocurrency on the app between March and April. The leading cryptocurrency accounted for 51% of market trades.
Ripple accounted for 20% of trades, ranking it second ahead of Ethereum with 14%. Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash each saw 8% of all trades on the app.
The company noted that age played a role in how much users were spending on purchases. Those aged 55-64 years, for instance, spent an average of £345 ($423), three times more than those aged 18-24, who spent an average of £109 ($134) on each trade.
Revolut also noted that its UK customers engaged in almost 30% more trading activity compared to that among its European users during the lockdown period.