As many as every fifth Swede has at some point invested in crypto assets according to the Financial Supervisory Authority's survey. And when prices rise, interest increases, according to Charlotte Fried at the agency.
We have seen increased interest in crypto assets in recent years. Above all, when the bitcoin price goes up drastically, we see that many more buy, she says.
Trump affects
In recent years, the number of those who have invested in crypto has doubled, from 6 percent in 2023 to 13 percent last year, according to the agency.
Interest is also affected by developments in the USA, where President Donald Trump already during the election campaign promised to make the country the planet's crypto center.
The more it is written in the media, the more invest, says Fried.
The Financial Supervisory Authority, however, warns Swedes against investing in crypto assets.
It is still a risky investment. It is still very price volatile, prices can fluctuate a lot both up and down, says Charlotte Fried and continues:
We have seen strong price increases and strong price decreases. We have also seen crypto assets that have completely failed in a relatively short time.
According to FI, it is therefore important that those who invest in crypto understand what it is about.
One should really understand what one is getting into and not invest more than what one can lose.
Most should still not buy crypto, as it is too risky a product for most, she says.
Many scams
The Financial Supervisory Authority also sees many scams related to crypto.
It is a market where we see very many unscrupulous actors and criminal activity. It is very common for people to be cheated out of their savings, so you should be very careful about what you hear, says Fried.
In a report from 2024, FI noted that more than half of the Swedes who had invested in crypto certificates in recent years, i.e. financial instruments with crypto as the underlying asset, had lost money.
This despite the fact that the market had risen by around 500 percent during the same period.
