- Bitcoin owners in the U.S have tripled since 2018, a new survey has found, with the younger population the overwhelming majority of the owners.
- Those that describe Bitcoin as very risky have also dropped by 20 percent, signaling a rise in confidence among investors.
The U.S is one of the world’s most important digital currency markets, and according to one survey, this market has seen significant growth in the past three years. The study found that Bitcoin owners in the U.S have tripled since 2018. It also found that those below 50 years were three times more likely to invest in crypto, with males dominating the market.
The survey was conducted by Gallup, a Washington D.C-based analytics and advisory company. Published on Thursday, it revealed that 6 percent of U.S investors now own Bitcoin. This is triple the 2 percent that revealed to own Bitcoin in 2018.
When Gallup last conducted the poll in 2018, Bitcoin was trading around $8,000. It was going through what came to be known as Crypto Winter in which it would shed half that value before a gradual recovery that has now seen the crypto set a new all-time high at over $64,000.
Bitcoin ownership is dominated by those aged between 18 and 49, unsurprisingly so. Impressively, in this demographic, ownership is up by more than 10 percentage points to 13 percent. For those aged above 50, the ownership is much lower at just 3 percent, but even then, it’s still up from 1 percent in 2018.
Bitcoin considered ‘less risky’ now
The study revealed other traits, including that Bitcoin is still a male-dominated field. Men outnumber women by 11 percent to 3 percent. Bitcoin is also still trailing popular investment options such as stocks and mutual funds, which have attracted 84 percent of investors. Bitcoin’s closest rival is gold which is owned by 11 percent of investors, entrenching the outlook of Bitcoin as digital gold.
One of the most important metrics that Gallup revealed is the sharp rise in awareness regarding Bitcoin among investors. Those who claim to know about Bitcoin are well above one in three, now standing at 38 percent. This is up from 29 percent three years ago.
The rise in awareness has been critical for BTC and the thousands of other cryptos. For one, this has been a major factor behind the increased adoption. And with more people now gravitating towards Bitcoin, regulators have taken a bigger interest in the industry, leading to greater investor protection.
This was reflected in the number of investors who now consider Bitcoin as “very risky.” It now stands at 60 percent, which is still quite high but is down from 75 percent three years ago. 35 percent consider it as somewhat risky, which given the largely unregulated nature of the industry is a sensible stand.
Bitcoin’s greater acceptance among investors is down to several factors. One of these has been Coinbase which made history by being the first crypto exchange in the U.S to trade publicly. As many experts and market leaders observed at the time, the listing was a landmark moment for the crypto industry. Other exchanges like Kraken and Gemini have also grown significantly, with the former expecting to list in the next 18 months.
The interest – and investment – by major institutions have also played a big role. From Elon Musk’s Tesla to Michael Saylor’s Microstrategy and Jack Dorsey’s Square, these highly credible companies have made Bitcoin a mainstream asset.
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