Current Adoption and Confidence in Cryptocurrencies- Survey

By now, most people have some idea of what a cryptocurrency is. As a refresher, cryptocurrencies are digital currencies that are secured and maintained by cryptography rather than a central institution. The first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was launched in 2008 in an attempt to solve some problems in the traditional money system recognized by the creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. Since then, many more cryptocurrencies have been launched and have seen waves of adoption. People are constantly visiting crypto brokers with low spreads to buy and own cryptocurrencies.

Today, we are going to explore the current adoption and confidence in cryptocurrencies. Specifically, we are going to summarize the main findings of two main research pieces that we are going to rely on in this research. Let’s jump in.

The Current Adoption of Cryptocurrencies

As mentioned, the first cryptocurrency to launch was Bitcoin. Today, it has the largest number of holders among all cryptocurrencies. Understandably, its movement in the market and in adoption dictates how the rest of the market moves. According to a survey done by Morning Consult, Cryptocurrencies saw a slight increase in adoption from January 2022 to April 2023. The researchers found that 22% of US adults reported owning cryptocurrencies in April 2023. This is up from the 19% reported in January of 2022.

Bitcoin also saw an increase in the percentage of people who reported owning the cryptocurrency over this period. The percentage of US adults that own it went up from 14% to 16%. Albeit small, this is still a significant upward trend as the market is still somewhat bearish. Bitcoin is still the most owned cryptocurrency in the market followed by Ethereum, Binance Coin, and Tether respectively. 

The report also suggests that millennials are the biggest owners of cryptocurrencies among US adults. This is probably because this generation grew up seeing many new technologies introduced and adopted. As such, they may be more accepting of new technology than their other generations.

The Current Confidence in Cryptocurrencies

Generally, confidence in cryptocurrencies keeps fluctuating up and down. Confidence usually rises in the bull market and falls in the bear market. In recent times, the cryptocurrency market has been mauled by a series of bad news and events. Some recent highlights include bankruptcies, lawsuits, and regulatory threats, according to Pew Research Center.

Particularly, Pew Research Center reports that about 75% of Americans who have heard at least something about cryptocurrencies are not confident that current activities in the crypto market are reliable and safe. Some of these activities include investing, trading and using cryptocurrencies. 

Notably, this survey was conducted in March or 2023 at a time when the cryptocurrency market was flooded with a plethora of negative news and sentiments. This might be one of the reasons why the confidence in cryptocurrencies and activities around them is fairly low. 

On the other end, some 2% are extremely confident in cryptocurrencies while 4% are very confident in cryptocurrencies. Another 18% were reported to be somewhat confident in cryptocurrencies. The statistics are very concerning as the majority of adults who have heard about cryptocurrencies do not have confidence in them.

Nonetheless, the report also points out that attitudes differ based on whether someone has invested in cryptocurrency. While about 20% of crypto users said they are extremely or very confident in cryptocurrencies, it falls to about 2% among those who have not invested in cryptocurrencies but are familiar with them. Further, those who invested in cryptocurrencies still have some reservations, especially about the security of cryptocurrencies. 

Expected Trends in the Near Future

Currently, there is a lot of evidence that suggests that the ownership of cryptocurrencies will go down, at least in the near future. There are too many people who simply do not have confidence in cryptocurrencies. A lot of issues arise due to the uncertainty caused by recent negative events, uncertainty in the security of cryptocurrencies, and the relaxed regulatory environment. According to Cryptocurrency Insights hub, more people are now selling their crypto holdings compared to the same time last year.

However, there is a slight increase in the number of people interested in buying cryptocurrencies. The number of people who reported interest in buying cryptocurrencies rose from 24% to 26% from April 2022 to April 2023. This is quite a small increase even in a bearish market. 

Furthermore, Cryptocurrency Insights Hub reported that trust in cryptocurrencies generally went down from January 2022 to April 2023. The trust value went from -30 to -38 in this period. Essentially, it went from bad to worse. Nonetheless, the bull cycle might come with new players in the field and increase adoption of cryptocurrencies. It is still a hard task to predict what will happen to the crypto market in the future.

Final thoughts

The current trend points to a gradual fall in the number of people that own cryptocurrencies. It also points to a fall in trust and confidence in cryptocurrencies. Additionally, there is a huge number of people who reported selling their cryptocurrencies. While this can be a result of the current bearish conditions in the market, there are other factors that affect the adoption and confidence in cryptocurrencies. For starters, some people do not trust the security of cryptocurrencies. There have been a number of hacks targeted towards some cryptocurrency systems. Additionally, some people do not have trust in the current regulatory framework governing cryptocurrency activities. Still, this can change at any time and adoption might pick up during the bull market.