Bitcoin Is Taking Over America: 50% Of Americans Invested, Plan To Invest In Cryptocurrency

KEY POINTS

Around 50% of Americans now view cryptocurrencies as safe investments, a survey of 30,000 shows
Some of the concerns expressed are related to fear of being hacked and the lack of regulatory clarity
More millennials have a positive view of Bitcoin compared to Gen Xers and Gen Zers

Around 50% of Americans now have a favorable view of cryptocurrencies and feel it is safe to invest in digital currencies. This comes amid a new all-time high for Bitcoin and after a wave of corporations and institutional investors showed a positive view of the dominant cryptocurrency.

A survey across 30,330 Americans conducted by Piplsay, a consumer research company, revealed the public’s increasing positive perception of cryptocurrency. Out of this number, 27% are planning to invest in cryptocurrencies this year, while 25% said they have already invested. Around 48% of respondents said they are not interested.

Cryptocurrencies are not really the easiest to understand among financial topics. When asked how well they understand cryptocurrency, 22% answered that they understand it very well, while 22% said they have some understanding of the topic.

Of the 43% who said they don’t understand cryptocurrencies, 30% said they don’t have any knowledge of it, while 13% said they have never heard of crypto.

While 50% already believe cryptocurrencies are safe, half of the respondents do not share the same view. Some of their concerns include the fear of being hacked, lack of knowledge about the system, lack of regulatory clarity and the volatility of cryptocurrencies.

Should brands start accepting cryptocurrencies as a payment method? Around 57%, or more than half of the respondents, said they should. Tesla, in its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, revealed that it plans to accept Bitcoin as payment for its products.

Most of the respondents with a favorable view of cryptocurrencies were millennials. While 38% of millennials who answered the survey understand cryptocurrencies, only 33% of Gen Xers and 29% of Gen Zers do.

Bitcoin and the entire cryptocurrency market recently breached $1.7 trillion market capitalization, with Bitcoin itself commanding a $1.03 trillion market cap, easily beating out other assets such as Tencent ($915 billion) and Tesla ($749 billion).

Bitcoin came out of the March 2020 drop to $3,800 to breach $57,000 per BTC on Sunday. The dominant cryptocurrency is up 87% since the year began.