Almost 80 percent of Americans have heard of bitcoin
Leila Chin
Almost 80 percent of Americans have heard of bitcoin, a new survey by polling firm YouGov has found.
“Cryptocurrency — a form of digital or virtual money that is generally designed to be decentralized, secure, and in many cases, anonymous — is popular amongst Americans. A vast majority (79 percent) of Americans are familiar with at least one kind of cryptocurrency,” the survey revealed, adding that among the people who have heard of bitcoin, 87 percent of them have not have sold or mined it.
“About half (49 percent) in this group say ‘I’m glad I didn’t buy Bitcoin earlier, and I don’t plan to buy it,’ while 15% say ‘I wish I had bought Bitcoin earlier, but I feel like it’s too late now.’ About one in five (21%) people between 35 and 54 chose this response, while only 11% of people 55 and up did,” it added.
Relative few respondents have any intention to buy bitcoin right away, but more than one-third, of 36 percent of them, believe that virtual currencies will become widely accepted in several transactions within the next decade but 34 percent of other respondents think otherwise.
“One quarter (25%) say they think cryptocurrencies are used more for illegal purchases rather than legal ones. Only 17% think they’re used more for legal purchases, and 19% think cryptocurrencies are equally used for legal and illegal purchases,” YouGov said.
“Millennials (44 percent) are the most likely of any age group to say cryptocurrency will be widely accepted. About one-third (34 percent) of Gen X’ers and 29 percent of baby boomers agreed,” it added.
Specifically, Hispanic Americans are likely to vouch on the cryptocurrencies to be mostly used for legal purchases.
“Of the people who believe that cryptocurrencies will become widely accepted, over one-third (36 percent) say they would be interested in converting to primarily using a cryptocurrency rather than the US dollar. However, a majority (57 percent) say they would not be interested in converting away from the US dollar. Millennials are almost equally split between being interested (48 percent) and not interested (50 percent),” it said.
In its latest poll, YouGov asked 1,202 Americans about the familiarity and interest in cryptocurrencies on August 29 and 30.
Meanwhile, bitcoin prices have plummeted double-digit, negating long-term bull market just days ago.
“At press time, the leading cryptocurrency is changing hands at $6,422 on Bitfinex – down 13 percent from the previous day’s high of $7,404,” CoinDesk reported, noting a bearish reversal is not still confirmed based on technical studies.
“Notably, BTC has erased all the gains made over the last two weeks in a single day. Further, the sharp drop has poured cold water over the optimism generated by the falling channel breakout and the bullish turn of the weekly MACD,” it added.
However, the report said it is not too soon to expect a long-term bullish-to-bearish trend change since the prices are staying above the crucial support of $6,000.
“BTC’s drop to the low of $6,302 has neutralized the long-term bullish outlook. Prices could drop to $6,000, albeit after a minor corrective rally due to intraday oversold conditions,” it added.
