Most Americans have heard of bitcoin, but very few own any
However, around one fifth of US residents are considering buying into the popular cryptocurrency.
A recent study released by SurveyMonkey and Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC) has shed some light on what the average American thinks about bitcoin, in addition to what type of person decides to make the cryptoasset part of their portfolio.
According to the survey, there is a growing familiarity with bitcoin in the United States, but not many people have taken the plunge into the world of cryptocurrency investments.
Those who have decided to get their hands on some bitcoin do so for a variety of reasons, including the avoidance of government regulations.
Who uses bitcoin?
Of the more than 5,000 people who took part in the survey, nearly six in ten (58%) said they had heard or read about bitcoin, which is up significantly from a similar survey in 2013, which found that roughly a quarter (25.3%) of Americans were somewhat familiar with the cryptoasset at the time.
Only a small proportion (5%) of respondents claimed to hold some bitcoin, and these individuals were overwhelmingly young males. In fact, the majority (71%) of the bitcoin holders from the survey were male, while a significant number (58%) of them were between the ages of 18 and 34. Another way of looking at this aspect of the data is to say that around one in then (10%) millennials own some bitcoin, in contrast to one out of every 100 (1%) seniors.
Half of the bitcoin holders from the survey define themselves as independents in terms of their politics.
Why do they use bitcoin?
The reasons as to why American bitcoin holders add the digital asset to their portfolios falls into five categories.
- 63% see it as a growth investment
- 40% want to support the development of blockchain technology
- 33% use it to avoid government regulation
- 28% see it as a store of value
- 22% use it as hedge against potential price crashes in traditional assets
If given US$1000, the bitcoin holders from the survey were nearly three times as likely to say they would purchase more bitcoin rather than putting it into a savings account.
The most revealing statistic, in terms of getting into the mind of American bitcoin holders, may be that more of them trust the bitcoin network (24%) than their own government (17%).
Blockchain is the most popular bitcoin wallet in the world, with over 20 million users. As of last week, customers in the US are able to sell their bitcoin from within the wallet – with the option to buy coming soon.
Picture: Shutterstock
