Bitcoin trades around $45,000 following 2-day slide

A new survey says nearly half of crypto owners first bought digital assets in 2021

Bitcoin traded around $45,000 on Wednesday morning.

The cryptocurrency entered the day on a two-day losing streak.

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Bitcoin fell more than 1% during that slide and is down more than 1% year-to-date.

If you think the interest in cryptocurrencies grew largely in the past year, you'd be right and there's evidence to back it up.

Almost half of all cryptocurrency owners in the United States, Latin America and the Asia Pacific purchased the digital assets for the first time in 2021, according to a new survey reported by Reuters.

A Bitcoin illustration. (Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Gemini conducted the survey from Nov. 2021 to Feb. 2022.

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Nearly 30,000 people across 20 countries took part in the survey.

Leading the world in crypto adoption were Brazil and Indonesia with 41% of people surveyed in those countries reporting crypto ownership.

That compares to 20% in the United States and 18% in the United Kingdom.

Gemini found that 79% of people who reported owning crypto last year said they chose to purchase the digital assets for their long-term investment potential.

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It remains to be seen if the adoption momentum can keep pace this year.