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As Bitcoin surged from $250 just two years ago to over $7,000 today and the industry around it has boomed, the digital asset has been increasingly featured in public discussion. In light of this increased exposure, we decided to take the pulse of the country to gauge awareness and sentiment toward Bitcoin and get a better sense of where Bitcoin is in the adoption curve.
The results are based on responses from a recent survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults ages 18+ conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Blockchain Capital—many of the results are quite remarkable.
In particular, the results highlight a millennial (we define as 18-34 years old) proclivity for Bitcoin that may be indicative of a bright future for the digital asset.[Disclosure: Investing inBitcoin is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment. Disclosure: I own some Bitcoin.]
For example, more than 1 in 4 millennials prefer Bitcoin to stocks: 27% of whom said they would prefer to own $1,000 of Bitcoin over $1,000 in stocks. The number was even higher for male millennials—38% of whom said they prefer Bitcoin.
Not just stocks, many millennials prefer Bitcoin to other traditional financial assets as well. Given the choice of either $1,000 of Bitcoin or $1,000 of a traditional financial asset, 30% of millennials said they would choose Bitcoin over government bonds, 22% would choose Bitcoin over real estate, and 19% would choose Bitcoin over gold.
The preference for Bitcoin is especially true for millennial men – at least one quarter would prefer $1,000 of Bitcoin over $1,000 worth of: government bonds (43%), stocks (38%), real estate (26%), and gold (31%).
However, the results also show that only 4% of millennials have owned or currently own Bitcoin—indicating there’s a significant gap between preferred and actual ownership rates. If millennials close that gap as their purchasing power increases, it would be a significant and meaningful tailwind for Bitcoin adoption.
Younger demographics are often a leading indicator of the future—especially as it relates to technology. So, what’s going on here? Why is Bitcoin more appealing to younger demographics?
Bitcoin awareness and ownership is much higher among Millennials
First, and perhaps most importantly, more millennials are relatively knowledgeable and aware of Bitcoin than older demographics.
Overall, Bitcoin awareness is more than two times higher among millennials than older demographics: 42% of millennials say they are familiar with Bitcoin, compared to 15% among those ages 65+.
Millennials are more likely to view Bitcoin positively
Perhaps as a result of their greater awareness, millennials are significantly more likely to view Bitcoin favorably compared to older demographics.
Millennials are 10 times as likely as those ages 65+ to “strongly agree” that Bitcoin is a positive innovation in financial technology (20% vs. 2%). Roughly half of millennials (48%)—including 63% of male millennials—agree that Bitcoin is a positive innovation versus 19% of those ages 65+.
Overall, 20% of millennials “strongly agree” that Bitcoin is a positive innovation in financial technology. This is particularly high if we consider that only 42% of millennials described themselves as at least “somewhat familiar” with Bitcoin—so, presumably, the conversion rate from those that are informed to those that are strong believers is quite high.
Millennials don’t seem to view big banks as particularly trustworthy
When given the choice of whether Bitcoin or big banks are more trustworthy, millennials choose Bitcoin (8+ year history) over big banks (400+ year history) at a surprising rate.
Overall, more than 1 in 4 millennials (27%) think that Bitcoin is more trustworthy than big banks. Talk about software eating the world!
The figure is particularly impressive if we again consider that only 42% of millennials described themselves as at least “somewhat familiar” with Bitcoin. We can reasonably assume that those who identify as less than “somewhat familiar” with Bitcoin (58% of millennials) would not choose Bitcoin as more trustworthy than big banks—or least not at a meaningfully high rate.
In this light, the fact that 27% of millennials see Bitcoin as more trustworthy than big banks despite only 42% self-identifying as at least somewhat familiar with Bitcoin is astonishingly high.
Millennials have more conviction regarding Bitcoin’s future
One in five millennials “strongly agree” it’s likely that most people will be using Bitcoin in the next 10 years—including 29% of male millennials.
In total, more than 2 in 5 millennials (42%) agree that it is likely most people will be using Bitcoin in the next 10 years (vs. only 14% for those ages 65+).
Millennials appear more likely to be inclined to purchase Bitcoin in coming years
Considering the awareness, positive sentiment, and strong outlook for Bitcoin among millennials, it’s not too surprising that roughly 1 in 3 (32%) are likely to buy Bitcoin in the next 5 years – they are 8 times as likely to say this than those ages 65+ (4%).
Putting it all together
In sum, major takeaways from the survey include:
- Despite the fact that Bitcoin is still in early days, Bitcoin conviction, awareness, and knowledge are considerably high—particularly among millennials.
- Likely as a result of their relatively elevated awareness, millennials are significantly more likely than older demographics to view Bitcoin as a positive innovation in financial technology (48% vs. 19% of those ages 65+).
- 27% of millennials believe Bitcoin is more trustworthy than big banks indicating they may have a greater conviction in the ability of software to improve the fabric of finance.
- Millennials have significantly more conviction in Bitcoin’s future adoption compared to those ages 65+. In total, 42% of millennials believe it’s likely most people will use Bitcoin in the next 10 years, compared to 14% of those ages 65+.
- Many millennials prefer to own Bitcoin over traditional financial assets like stocks (27%), government bonds (30%), real estate (22%), and gold (19%).
The millennial proclivity for Bitcoin is interesting in that younger generations tend to be the early adopters of technology and social trends that ultimately affect the broader public. Indeed, the results suggest that millennials could drive a significant shift in asset allocation toward the adoption of cryptoassets like Bitcoin. While only 4% of millennials own Bitcoin today, many say they would prefer to own Bitcoin over stocks, bonds, real estate, or gold.
Given strong demand for Bitcoin among millennials—a notoriously difficult but important demographic to capture—major financial institutions would be wise to offer their clients access and services for cryptoassets like Bitcoin.
Ultimately, if this survey is any indicator, Bitcoin has a bright future ahead: It has meaningfully captured the hearts and minds of younger generations and is likely to benefit from increasing awareness and conviction across all age groups.
To view more data from the survey, pleasego to Survey.Blockchain.Capital
This survey of over 2,000 adults was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Blockchain Capital between from October 18-20, 2017 among 2,112 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, among whom 387 are millennials (ages 18-34). This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact blockchaincapital@sparkpr.com.
