Despite cryptocurrency’s growing influence, Americans still have doubts about digital coinage, especially as the market faces growing difficulties, including bankruptcies, lawsuits, and regulatory pressure.
Key Details
- Most Americans have heard of cryptocurrency, but around two-thirds of U.S. adults say they are not confident in the asset, according to a recent report from the Pew Research Center.
- Survey respondents say they do not feel the current ways to trade, invest in, or otherwise use cryptos are reliable or safe.
- Around 6% of Americans say they are extremely or very confident in cryptocurrencies compared to the 75% who say they are not at all or not very confident in the coinage’s reliability and safety.
- Feelings regarding crypto also vary depending on age and gender. Adults over 50 are less likely to trust crypto. Women also tend to be more skeptical.
- Whether or not the survey respondent has invested in crypto also affected their view. One in five investors say that they are extremely or very confident in crypto. However, around 43% of crypto investors still say they are not very confident in the investment.
Why it’s news
Bitcoin experienced a price surge, giving some investors hope and providing more exposure to the asset class to investors.
Crypto has had a challenging year with crypto exchange collapses, the currency value falling, and increased calls for regulation on the federal level. The beginning of this year has not fared much better as scandals and lawsuits influenced the market.
The rollercoaster market of cryptocurrency has left many Americans distrustful of the system, lessening the chances of its survival. Since 2021, the number of U.S. adults who invest in crypto has remained relatively unchanged. This year, it sits at around 17%, according to Pew.
Young men are still the most likely to invest in crypto. Around 41% of men ages 18 to 29 have invested in or used crypto in some way, compared to 16% of women in the same age group. Asian adults are also more likely to invest than Black, Hispanic, or White adults. Around 24% of Asian respondents have invested in or used crypto compared to 21% of Black or Hispanic adults and 14% of White adults.
While the overall number of investors has remained relatively steady over the past three years, the number of first-time investors is down. Around 74% of respondents said they first invested in crypto five years ago. A much smaller group of 16% said they invested for the first time within the last year.
While most respondents (69%) say they still have their crypto investments, around 31% who have previously invested say they no longer have any cryptocurrency. Low-income and female investors are more likely to have given up on crypto investments than middle to upper-income or male investors.
This may be because one in five investors say crypto has negatively affected their personal finances. Around 45% say that their investment did not perform as well as expected. Only 15% say their crypto investment exceeded expectations. About 32% say it performed exactly as they anticipated.
However, around 60% of these investors say crypto investments had a neutral effect on their personal finances. About 20% said it either helped or hurt their finances. Just 7% felt cryptocurrency has a significant positive effect on their finances, and 3% experienced significant adverse effects.
