ING, the Dutch banking and financial services giant, recently hired a research company, Ipsos, to conduct a study on the perception of cryptocurrencies in Europe, the United States and Australia. The results have just been published and are encouraging to those in the industry. It is expected that the interest in the incipient industry will double.
Although Bitcoin and other digital currencies are going through a dark period and are at or below their annual lows, the study gives hope that a period of recovery and sustained growth will come soon. The study was conducted by respondents in 13 European countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,
Poland, Romania, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom, as well as Australia and the United States. Approximately 1000 people were surveyed in each country.
According to the official report,
66% of people in Europe say they have heard of cryptocurrency.
Less than one in 10 (9%) owns it.
An additional
16% say they expect to own cryptocurrency in the future
which suggests that acceptance could more than double. Considering that one-third of those
in Europe (34%) have not yet heard of the cryptocurrency
the potential for growth could be even greater.
The study also revealed that the majority of respondents consider that virtual currencies are a riskier investment than real estate, bonds or stocks. Also, when considering a cryptocurrency investment, people tend to rely on financial advisors and specialized websites instead of their friends and family.
Jessica Exton, a behavioral scientist, concluded that
“cryptocurrency is still an abstract investment, but there may be more appetite for digital currencies than some might suggest.”
According to our survey, ownership of cryptocurrencies could more than double in the future, although, there was no indication of when this will happen.
by Emanuel Andrade
