Coindesk has released its latest report ‘Who really uses Bitcoin?’ in a bid to dispel, or compound, some of the myths and legends around the digital currency.
Who do we think of when we talk about bitcoin users? Is it the ideological libertarian, wanting to subvert traditional finance? The speculator, wanting to profit from price movements? Or the thrill- seeking drug user, getting their goodies through illicit black markets? Media reports and forum conversations have doubtless portrayedall three. But are such stereotypes appropriate?
The results are, well, largely to be expected given ongoing criticism laid at the door of the supposedly distributed and democratic cryptocurrency.
In a survey of 4,000 Bitcoin owners worldwide, 91.8 percent defined themselves as male, 72.5 percent said they are white and 65.8 percent declared themselves a techie. Almost half of Bitcoin owners surveyed said they live in the US.
Interestingly for less-well-publicized diversity issues, users also had the option to identify as transgender or decline to name their gender, but those people made up less than 3 percent of overall respondents.
More encouraging in the bid to dispel Bitcoin as a rich man’s game, the level of income of respondents was pretty fairly distributed, from those who earn less than $25,000 to those who make more than $200,000.
Education level, however, was skewed slighty towards those with an undergrad degree or higher.
Unfortunately, rather than representing a positive alternative to cash or a great technology to many owners, most people surveyed said they brought Bitcoin as an investment.
Here’s how most people got hold of their Bitcoin.
Read more
http://thenextweb.com/insider/2016/01/22/bitcoin-owners-are-still-white-male-techies-to-no-ones-surprise/
