Overbit.com, a leading Bitcoin trading platform, has published its annual in-depth report on cryptocurrency trader behaviour, trends, and sentiment. Over the course of two weeks in March 2021, Overbit surveyed over 3,000 unique individual cryptocurrency traders across 87 different countries.

In addition to assessing trading habits, Overbit asked survey participants their preferences on a variety of topics — including cryptocurrency storage, due diligence techniques, trading strategies, and exchange selection.

Even though the crypto asset class posted record-breaking price growth during the first quarter of 2021, 34% of respondents told Overbit they’re expecting valuations to climb even further. Interestingly, optimism was highest (44%) among cryptocurrency users with 1–2 years worth of trading experience. Novices and professional traders were less bullish, but not by much.

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) remain the most popular cryptocurrencies among traders, according to Overbit’s report. Ownership figures for the former remained unchanged over the previous year’s survey results, while Ethereum has seen a significant increase. Almost two-thirds (65%) of the survey’s respondents held ETH, up from 2020’s 50% figure.

To understand how traders typically store their cryptocurrency, Overbit asked respondents whether they entrust their digital asset holdings to a third party.

Nearly two out of every three respondents (65%) said they prefer leaving their tokens on an exchange. On the other end of the spectrum, a mere 25% of traders use a cold wallet for cryptocurrency storage.

9% of surveyed traders told Overbit that they had lost a portion of their cryptocurrency holdings as a result of an exchange hack or security breach in the past. However, 11% of respondents acknowledged losing access to digital assets held in their own private wallets. This suggests a slightly lower likelihood of loss among those that decide to store their cryptocurrency on an exchange.

CEO and founder of Overbit Cheh Liu commented, “The cryptocurrency industry has matured significantly over the past few years. Retail traders can now rely on exchanges to be trusted custodians, thus eliminating many of the barriers new traders faced earlier.”

Overbit’s latest report also includes key insights into emerging trends in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, by contrasting responses collected in both 2020 and 2021.

This year 20% fewer novice investors acknowledged losing cryptocurrency due to a personal error. On the due diligence front, the popularity of Twitter jumped 10% when compared to Overbit’s 2020 survey results. Overbit also found that respondents showed a stronger preference for trading on mobile platforms in 2021, with the popularity of desktops falling by around 8%. These trends show a gradual, but clear shift in trader behaviour.

Overbit’s 2021 survey also focused on the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on trader behaviour. 56% of all surveyed individuals acknowledged taking on a higher degree of investment risk over the course of the pandemic.

“Awareness of the cryptocurrency market — and even traditional asset classes — are on the rise among retail traders. Meanwhile, in the face of rising inflation and falling interest rates, investors are increasingly looking towards growth assets such as Bitcoin,” Liu explained. “It is therefore no surprise that trader risk appetite has grown significantly over the past year.”

32% of novice traders acknowledged making no investments outside cryptocurrency over the past year. This statistic suggests that cryptocurrency represents many individuals’ first ever exposure to managing personal investments. Still, 35% of respondents across all skill categories made at least one equity trade over the past 12 months.

Finally, Overbit asked respondents whether they held any stake in the Decentralised Finance (DeFi) and Non-fungible token (NFT) ecosystems. 66% of surveyed traders did not own a single DeFi-related asset over the past twelve months — suggesting that the $60 billion industry still has a way to go before reaching critical mass.