[2018-08-10] Half of the US adults have little to no understanding of crypto

[Thadeous]

Cryptocurrencies Are Unfamiliar to Half of Americans, Survey Shows

Only 5% of US citizens, who are investing or planning to invest in the next year, eyed on virtual coins.

Nearly half of the US adults have little to no understanding of cryptocurrencies, and only 5% of those who plan investment would bet on digital coins, a survey published on Thursday showed. Ordered by Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA), the report revealed that most people see volatility markets as an opportunity for easy revenues.

Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) or Litecoin (LTC) are not popular among US citizens, as 48% of them are not familiar with digital coins, according to the AICPA research conducted by Harris Poll. Among the 42% that have some degree of knowledge, around 24% said that cryptos would rise in value, 29% thought that the coins would fall, 35% predicted wild fluctuations and only 12% believed that Bitcoin and the altcoins would remain stable in the next year.

The poll revealed that only 35% of US citizens are investing or have such plans for the next year with only 5% saying that they would give their money for cryptocurrencies.

The crypto unpopularity looks rather strange as one of the main conclusions of the report was that 48% saw the volatility as a chance for making money.

   “Investing is not a get-rich-quick scheme and trying to time a volatile market with hopes for huge gains is a serious financial risk,” Greg Anton, chairman of the AICPA’s National CPA Financial Literacy Commission said.

    “Many people who enter the market looking for a quick buck find they can’t handle watching their investment lose value, which leads them to sell at a loss. For most people, seeking incremental gains over a longer time horizon is a safer, more sustainable approach.”

Millennials (aged 20-37) and Gen Xers (aged 38-53) are the two groups that showed interest in high-volatility investments, the report noted.

The AICPA survey was conducted in April among 1,014 US adults.

Source: https://cryptovest.com/news/cryptocurrencies-are-unfamiliar-to-half-of-americans-survey-shows/

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[entrepmind23]

Nearly half of the US adults have little to no understanding of cryptocurrencies, and only 5% of those who plan investment would bet on digital coins, a survey published on Thursday showed. Ordered by Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA), the report revealed that most people see volatility markets as an opportunity for easy revenues.

Now, let's look at the positive way, if nearly half have little to no understanding of cryptocurrencies then it would mean that more than half of US adults do understand it which is good right? Compared to people who knew cryptocurrency back then, it's a big progress and even though only 5% of them would consider investing on it, at least there is 5% and I am pretty sure that when the price goes up, others including those who have little to no understanding about crypto would ask someone who knows something about it.

[bbc.reporter]

How many people in America have held or is holding bitcoin or other cryptocoins today? I reckon maybe less than 10%, or it might be even less than 6%?

That is similar to the adoption rate of the internet during 1995 - 1998. We should consider ourselves lucky to have found the cryptospace this early hehehe.

[SoiledDove]

Cryptocurrency can be a hard thing to get your head around. Especially if you're not tech minded. I know two brothers and one is mad into cryptocurrency. Knows every little thing about it and invests too. His brother on the other hand, is totally unaware of the concept of cryptocurrency. He knows it's a concept, period. When it comes to cryptocurrency, people either are really into it, or unaware. That's what it seems like to me in any case.

[Irvinn]

It seems to me that such a sad situation with the knowledge of Americans in the field of crypto currency is the result of negative information from state bodies and the banking system, which they voiced to their citizens over the past few years. Crypto currency, and especially bitcoin, there is shown as a risky means to invest. Therefore, citizens do not show proper interest in the crypto currency. In crypto-currencies there are still great opportunities to conquer new markets. As it strengthens its position, new and new people will join it.

[Lucius]

Survey based on 1,014 US adults in a country which has 326+ million citizens is really something that needs to be taken into consideration, this is like a bad joke...I think for some relevant results the number of respondents should be much greater, in this way we have not got a real picture.

I think that people in USA know much more about cryptocurrency and BTC in particular, their news networks have regular reports and shows dedicated to this topic, so the average American has enough information - but I think they realize that this is a very risky investment. If only 5% of Americans invest in crypto, this is still a nice number ( 16 million people ). I guess that with more good news that number can be very easily increased.

[hatshepsut93]

   “Investing is not a get-rich-quick scheme and trying to time a volatile market with hopes for huge gains is a serious financial risk,” Greg Anton, chairman of the AICPA’s National CPA Financial Literacy Commission said.

    “Many people who enter the market looking for a quick buck find they can’t handle watching their investment lose value, which leads them to sell at a loss. For most people, seeking incremental gains over a longer time horizon is a safer, more sustainable approach.”

Bitcoin is quite suitable for long-term gains, it's just that retail investors lack discipline to hold when they are at a loss. If you've bought at ATH, then instead of selling at the bottom you should patiently wait for a new ATH. People get rekt not because Bitcoin is volatile and speculative market, but because they treat it as such, they think that if Bitcoin is going down, then it must be dying and it's better to get out at least with portion of their money.

[Aikidoka]

Survey based on 1,014 US adults in a country which has 326+ million citizens is really something that needs to be taken into consideration, this is like a bad joke...I think for some relevant results the number of respondents should be much greater, in this way we have not got a real picture.

In addition to that, if the survey was made for 1,014 adults, then I believe there are still others who know about or interested in cryptocurrency. You cannot just ask a bunch of people and then claim that 5% of the US citizens are interested. Moreover, 1,014 adults are just a small number to be honest. Many will say it is a good news, but they just forget that they cannot do anything about it to change the fact that cryptocurrency is still unknown by many US citizens.

[aso118]

Survey based on 1,014 US adults in a country which has 326+ million citizens is really something that needs to be taken into consideration, this is like a bad joke...I think for some relevant results the number of respondents should be much greater, in this way we have not got a real picture.

In addition to that, if the survey was made for 1,014 adults, then I believe there are still others who know about or interested in cryptocurrency. You cannot just ask a bunch of people and then claim that 5% of the US citizens are interested. Moreover, 1,014 adults are just a small number to be honest. Many will say it is a good news, but they just forget that they cannot do anything about it to change the fact that cryptocurrency is still unknown by many US citizens.

This is how surveys work. I agree that the sample size is very small for a country as large and as diverse as the United States. A person from New York would probably think differently from a person in the rural MidWest. Having said that, 5% investing in cryptocurrencies seems to be a large number for me. People still think of cryptocurrencies as lotteries and not as a serious investment.

[guybrushthreepwood]

You can apply this to almost any new technology. It will have been the same for computers, cell phones, debit/credit cards. I remember my father telling me he didn't even have a TV for the first few years of his life. My gran won't or can't use computers. I remember her struggling with her bank card when she first got it. I also remember getting my first computer at about 8 or 9 and they were very expensive. I didn't have a mobile phone until about 12/13. Kids probably have their own laptops and phones from a very early age and just look at all the technology in the smartphone that a 5 year old probably has. It has everything I've just mentioned plus infinitely more. All you need is a phone or tablet to use bitcoin and you're good to go. Many of the kids today are more technically knowledgeable than most adults but over time more adults will become aware of crypto and likely start to use it, but it's still a relatively niche thing and certainly not for everyone.

[Thadeous]

You can apply this to almost any new technology. It will have been the same for computers, cell phones, debit/credit cards. I remember my father telling me he didn't even have a TV for the first few years of his life. My gran won't or can't use computers. I remember her struggling with her bank card when she first got it. I also remember getting my first computer at about 8 or 9 and they were very expensive. I didn't have a mobile phone until about 12/13. Kids probably have their own laptops and phones from a very early age and just look at all the technology in the smartphone that a 5 year old probably has. It has everything I've just mentioned plus infinitely more. All you need is a phone or tablet to use bitcoin and you're good to go. Many of the kids today are more technically knowledgeable than most adults but over time more adults will become aware of crypto and likely start to use it, but it's still a relatively niche thing and certainly not for everyone.

This sounds so familiar. For some reason older people often struggle understanding new technologies, even those who were involved in Hitec of 60th and 70th. Concerning young generation, yeah they dive into innovations really fast, but their main problem is a serious lack of fundamental knowledge.

[stomachgrowls]

How many people in America have held or is holding bitcoin or other cryptocoins today? I reckon maybe less than 10%, or it might be even less than 6%?

That is similar to the adoption rate of the internet during 1995 - 1998. We should consider ourselves lucky to have found the cryptospace this early hehehe.

It would really come to that point not only to US but also on other countries at well. These kind of statistics or kind of surveys doesnt really put up the precise percentage of people who do know or do have much interest to crypto. Just interviewing up a number of people but even though we cant able to know the exact percentage but we can able to foreseen the interest even just on small numbers.
Adoption is still on the move and reaching 5%(16 million on the entire population) is plausible.

[1Referee]

Concerning young generation, yeah they dive into innovations really fast, but their main problem is a serious lack of fundamental knowledge.

People still don't know how the internet works or what the protocol actually consists of, but that doesn't stop them from using it.

If the UI is easy to understand and use, people don't need fundamental knowledge. Bitcoin itself is super simple and just requires people to have a lightweight client allowing them to send and receive value, and we are definitely booking some decent progress in that regard. The only thing I am not satisfied with is how clients absolutely suck when it comes to fee calculation, and this is one of the main reasons high fees exist.

The ultimate challenge for Bitcoin will be how LN will evolve from here, and then mainly how noob friendly the clients will become. If people are able to utilize Bitcoin's currency aspect through LN in the best possible way, it will greatly increase Bitcoin's utility value. Instead of just a store of value and speculative investment asset it will be an actual currency as well. Bitcoin should be and remain everyone's currency for ever.

[bbc.reporter]

You can apply this to almost any new technology. It will have been the same for computers, cell phones, debit/credit cards. I remember my father telling me he didn't even have a TV for the first few years of his life. My gran won't or can't use computers. I remember her struggling with her bank card when she first got it. I also remember getting my first computer at about 8 or 9 and they were very expensive. I didn't have a mobile phone until about 12/13. Kids probably have their own laptops and phones from a very early age and just look at all the technology in the smartphone that a 5 year old probably has. It has everything I've just mentioned plus infinitely more. All you need is a phone or tablet to use bitcoin and you're good to go. Many of the kids today are more technically knowledgeable than most adults but over time more adults will become aware of crypto and likely start to use it, but it's still a relatively niche thing and certainly not for everyone.

Agreed. I reckon the people born after the creation of bitcoin, after 2009, will make the difference. Once they become fledging adults, they would already know of the cryptospace as something that is already a part of society, and it would be so ordinary to them.