Nearly half (48%) of US adults are familiar with Bitcoin, but most of them still have doubts regarding its reliability and usefulness as a mainstream currency. Thus, only 13% of respondents claim they would select it as an investment over gold.
In terms of geographical dispersion, those living in America’s Western states are more likely to know about Bitcoin than people from the South or Midwest (55% versus 46% in the South and 41% in the Midwest). However, only 7% of Westerners who know what Bitcoin is would invest in Bitcoin over gold, the lowest percentage of any region.
As far as age is concerned, young adults tend to be the biggest Bitcoin supporters, survey findings indicate. Thus, 20% of US adults aged 18-34 who know what Bitcoin would not hesitate to invest in Bitcoin over gold – making this group over twice as likely as those age 55+ (8%) to do the same. Young adults aged 18-34 who know what Bitcoin is are also far more supportive of Bitcoin’s libertarian values: 39% were not in favor of any government being able to regulate Bitcoin, compared to, 28% aged 45-54 and 24% aged 55 and older.
With regard to regulation, US adults` attitudes about Bitcoin are similarly confused. When asked if any government should be allowed to regulate Bitcoin, nearly half (45%) of US respondents who knew about the cryptocurrency said they were unsure. Of those with a firm opinion, 44% said a government should be allowed to regulate it and 56% said no government should be able to do this.
The survey was conducted online within the US by Harris Interactive on behalf of Yodlee, the platform for financial innovation, in December 2013 among 2,039 adults ages 18 and older.
Every day we send out a free e-mail with the most important headlines of the last 24 hours.
Subscribe now