Crypto used to cross party lines. Republicans and Democrats owned it at about the same rate.
Not anymore. And one name explains a lot of the shift: Trump.
A new survey found 22% of Republicans have bought, traded or used crypto. Just 17% of Democrats said the same.
Before 2026, the two sides were about even. Since 2021, Republican use has climbed 6 points.
Democratic use, though, hasn't moved at all. The Pew survey asked more than 8,500 adults back in January.
About one in five U.S. adults now own some crypto. That's roughly the same share as back in 2021.
Still, the makeup of those owners has shifted a lot. The party split is the clearest sign of that.
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Crypto has always had a libertarian streak. Early fans were wary of big government and central control.
One industry expert said that mindset fits the right's instincts as crypto goes mainstream. Analysts also point to Trump, who flipped hard on the topic.
The gap started to grow around mid-2023. It really took off near the 2024 election.
In 2019 he called crypto a tool for "unlawful behavior." By 2022 he was selling $99 digital trading cards of himself.
Since then he's added memecoins, more NFTs, and a crypto venture called World Liberty Financial. Those coins alone have added to his family's wealth.
The White House also wants to let some crypto firms act like banks. It has pledged to make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the world."
As one analyst put it, "There's no Obama coin. There are Trump coins."
If you're new to all this, here's how to buy Bitcoin the simple way.
Here's the part that gets less attention. The gender gap dwarfs the party gap.
About 74% of crypto traders are men. Men under 45 trade it at about twice the rate of women the same age.
Analysts say women tend to be more careful with risky bets, and that caution shows up across crypto. Young men have also drifted a bit more conservative than their peers.
Crypto traders take on more risk than most people do. That risk-taking skews heavily male.
Picture crypto less like a red or blue club. It looks more like a fantasy sports league, mostly young guys.
That same crowd is piling into meme stocks and sports betting. Some call the trend "financial nihilism."
The party gap actually peaked in 2025 at about 11 points. It has since shrunk to around 5, while the gender gap has stayed wide.
So for now, gender tells you more about a crypto buyer than party does. But politics and gender now both shape who owns it.
Across the board, young investors keep chasing fast, risky bets. Either way, crypto has clearly moved into the mainstream.
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