Only one in five Americans say the U.S. financial system is secure
Washington, DC, October 27, 2026 – A new national study from DeFi Education Fund (DEF), conducted by Ipsos on KnowledgePanel and called "The State and Future of Finance: The American Perspective," finds that few Americans are confident the financial system is secure, most say it needs an upgrade to keep up with new threats, and about half feel in control of their own money. Ownership of crypto and openness to DeFi are largely consistent with 2025, and interest looks consistent across party lines.
Key Findings
1. Americans do not see the U.S. financial system as secure
- Only about 1 in 5 Americans (19%) say the U.S. financial system is secure, while nearly 2 in 3 (63%) say it needs an upgrade to combat new threats like cybercrime and AI.
2. Americans want control over their money but do not feel they have it
- Two in 3 (66%) want access to their money at all times, but only about half (49%) feel they have personal control over their financial assets.
3. Trust in traditional financial institutions falls below 50%
- Fewer than half have complete or a lot of trust in credit unions (48%, down 5 points from 2025), large national banks (42%) or regional or community banks (41%).
4. Crypto ownership and openness to DeFi are largely consistent with 2025
- 13% owned or used crypto in the past 12 months, consistent with 2025, and 22% have ever owned or used it (18% in 2025). Two in 5 (40%) are at least somewhat likely to try DeFi, also unchanged.
5. Interest in crypto and DeFi does not split along party lines
- Republicans (15%) and Democrats (13%) are nearly identical in saying it is extremely or very important that a candidate supports growth of emerging financial technologies like crypto and DeFi, and 17% of Republicans and 16% of Democrats want to learn more about crypto.
About the Study
This poll was conducted by Ipsos from September 8th to 16th, 2026, using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,545 adults age 18 or older. The survey was conducted using KnowledgePanel, the largest and most well-established online probability-based panel that is representative of the adult U.S. population. Our recruitment process employs a scientifically developed addressed-based sampling methodology using the latest Delivery Sequence File of the USPS – a database with full coverage of all delivery points in the U.S. Households invited to join the panel are randomly selected from all available households in the U.S. Persons in the sampled households are invited to join and participate in the panel. Those selected who do not already have internet access are provided a tablet and internet connection at no cost to the panel member. Those who join the panel and who are selected to participate in a survey are sent a unique password-protected log-in used to complete surveys online. As a result of our recruitment and sampling methodologies, samples from KnowledgePanel cover all households regardless of their phone or internet status and findings can be reported with a margin of sampling error and projected to the general population. The study was conducted in English.
The data for the total sample were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race/ethnicity, education, Census region, metropolitan status, and household income. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2025 March Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS). Party ID benchmarks are from the 2025 National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS).
- Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18–29, 30–44, 45-59 and 60+)
- Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other, Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races, Non-Hispanic)
- Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor or higher)
- Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
- Metropolitan status (Metro, non-Metro)
- Household Income (Under $25,000, $25,000-$49,999, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+)
- Party Identification (Republican, Lean Republican, Independent/Not lean, Lean Democrat, Democrat)
The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.24. The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on sub-samples. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.
About Ipsos
Ipsos is one of the largest market research and polling companies globally, operating in 90 markets and employing nearly 20,000 people.
Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. Our 75 business solutions are based on primary data from our surveys, social media monitoring, and qualitative or observational techniques.
“Game Changers” – our tagline – summarizes our ambition to help our 5,000 clients navigate with confidence our rapidly changing world.
Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has been listed on the Euronext Paris since July 1, 1999. The company is part of the SBF 120, Mid-60 indices, and is eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (SRD).
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About DeFi Education Fund
Founded in 2021, DeFi Education Fund is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization advocating for sound DeFi policy. At DEF, we are working to build a mainstream understanding of decentralized finance, and to protect the rights of developers, users, and projects to freely create decentralized infrastructure and technology.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Alec Tyson
Senior Vice President, US
Public Affairs
[email protected]
