Despite large investments and clear demand for yield, most Bitcoin holders have never tried BTCFI because the platforms feel complex and unknown. Without simpler products and better communication, BTCFI could remain a niche space for insiders instead of achieving the mainstream acceptance.
Summary
- Most Bitcoin holders have still not touched BTCFI, although investors pour money into space and there is a clear demand for yield and liquidity.
- The problem is that the current platforms are built for crypto insiders, which means that daily BTC users are confused, carefully or not know that these products even exist.
- Unless BTCFI becomes easier and is better communicated, it risks to remain a niche instead of reaching the wider Bitcoin public, warns gomining.
Although venture financing and media can suggest that Bitcoin Defi -or just known as BTCFI -is on the rise, Bitcoin users tell a different story. A new Gomining survey shared with crypto.news showed that almost 80% of the BTC holders have never used BTCFI, which emphasizes a gap between the ambitions of the industry and its actual acceptance.
Just like Decentralized Finance (Defi) on Ethereum, BTCFI was intended to offer a series of tools and platforms with which people can use BTC in financial ways than just buy and hold. For example, people can use BTC for loans, gain access to synthetic Bitcoin assets or bridge them through cross-chain bridges to gain access to various networks.
Institutional pouring also seems to be growing. Data from Maestro, an Enterprise-Grade Bitcoin-oriented infrastructure provider, to show That BTCFI venture financing rose to $ 175 million over 32 rounds in the first half of 2025, with 20 of the 32 deals focused on deficiency, guardianship or consumers apps in the BTCFI space.
Only for crypto -inburen
According to Gomining’s Survey, who interviewed more than 700 people in North America and Europe, about 77% of Bitcoin holders have never tried BTCFI. As the company explains, the problem is not a lack of demand, because the survey has shown that 73% of the Bitcoin holders want to earn a yield on their assets, while 42% is interested in access to liquidity without selling.
Adoption seems to be delayed by trust and complexity. More than 40% of the respondents said they would bind less than 20% of their bitcoin to BTCFI products, a conservatism that was linked to confusion and ensure safety.
Mark Zalan, CEO of Gomining, said the results matched what the company saw in his own work, and added that there is a “enormous appetite for these opportunities, but the industry has built products for Crypto -Inbors, not for daily Bitcoin holders.”
Lack of consciousness
Perhaps the clearest challenge for BTCFI consciousness is. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents or about 65%announcements do not mention any BTCFI project. For Zalan this points to a failure in communication
“This is not a failure of Bitcoin holders to keep track of. The BTCFI industry must communicate more effectively with its target market. If two-thirds of potential users cannot call any project in your space, you will be confronted with an adoption challenge that can solve education.”
Mark Zalan
The findings of Gomining suggest that BTCFI has so far mainly spoken with insiders instead of the wider basis of Bitcoin owners.
Not like Defi
A reason for the disconnection may be that BTCFI has borrowed heavily from the Defi model of Ethereum. But Bitcoin users usually have different preferences. They often prefer the custodial portfolios and regulated listed funds above self -spices and complex protocols.
As Zalan explained, “Bitcoin holders” are not Ethereum users “, and added that Coinbase and Bitcoin ETFs were successful” because they prioritized accessibility. “In other words, although the appetite exists, platforms must still be easier, safer and easier to use.
The survey paints a picture of a sector with both potential and barriers. Bitcoin holders want clear yield and liquidity options, but they do not rush to BTCFI platforms due to trust problems, complexity and low brand recognition.
And that contradiction creates both challenges and possibilities. If BTCFI platforms invest more in clear communication and simple onboarding, they might win the wider Bitcoin public. But if not, BTCFI runs the risk of remain a niche space for crypto insiders instead of the millions of Bitcoin holders who want to serve it.
