Block survey reveals Aussies relatively optimistic about Bitcoin

Too much volatility and an uncertain regulatory outlook are the most common reasons for people to avoid Bitcoin, though Australia ranks higher than the UK, Italy, Germany, Canada and France in terms of optimism about the cryptocurrency, according to the 2022 Block Bitcoin Survey.

Too much volatility and an uncertain regulatory outlook are the most common reasons for people to avoid Bitcoin, though Australia ranks higher than the UK, Italy, Germany, Canada and France in terms of optimism about the cryptocurrency, according to the 2022 Block Bitcoin Survey.

The survey found that the most common reason people would buy Bitcoin is to make money rather than to pay for goods. But once those responses are broken down by income group, higher-income respondents drive the trend of selecting investment reasons for buying Bitcoin (diversifying investments, inflation hedge, and potential to make money) more frequently than lower-income groups.

Not knowing enough about Bitcoin is the most common reason people don’t buy Bitcoin. Cybersecurity (or a lack of it), price volatility, and an uncertain regulatory outlook are also commonly cited reasons, the Block survey found. Looking only at those people who both claim to have a “fair to expert” amount of cryptocurrency knowledge and are sceptical about the future of Bitcoin, the main concerns are that it has “too much price volatility” and “an uncertain regulatory outlook.”

Bitcoin optimism driven by poorer nations

But Bitcoin’s popularity, whether as an investment or as a form of currency, varies depends on the country. People from Nigeria, India, Vietnam, and Argentina have the highest rates of optimism about Bitcoin’s future as well as the highest claimed levels of cryptocurrency knowledge more broadly, the Block survey found.  People with below-average income more frequently note using Bitcoin as a way to send money and buy goods and services than people with above-average incomes.

Australia ranks higher than the UK, Italy and France in terms of optimism about Bitcoin, while Japan ranks much lower than other developed nations, as the chart below shows.

Word of mouth draws people to Bitcoin

The power of word of mouth plays a significant role in Bitcoin ownership. Of those respondents who were not non-Bitcoin owners but personally know someone who owned Bitcoin, 73 per cent said they were ‘somewhat’ or ‘very likely’ to buy Bitcoin in the next 12 months, compared with just 37 per cent of those who do not know someone who already owns it.

In terms of investing, many people see a role for Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation hedge. Looking at the share of people who say that “protection against inflation” is a good reason to buy Bitcoin, that is strongly correlated with inflation rates by country, with Argentina leading the pack, as the chart below shows.

Word of mouth draws people to Bitcoin

The power of word of mouth plays a significant role in Bitcoin ownership. Of those respondents who were not non-Bitcoin owners but personally know someone who owned Bitcoin, 73 per cent said they were ‘somewhat’ or ‘very likely’ to buy Bitcoin in the next 12 months, compared with just 37 per cent of those who do not know someone who already owns it.

In terms of investing, many people see a role for Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation hedge. Looking at the share of people who say that “protection against inflation” is a good reason to buy Bitcoin, that is strongly correlated with inflation rates by country, with Argentina leading the pack, as the chart below shows.

The Block survey results show that a large portion of respondents also see Bitcoin as a means of payment, in line with its founding principles. Additionally, the Block survey found that the common perceptions of Bitcoin ownership being male-dominated is not always the case, with an increasingly diverse community of people who are enthusiastic and knowledgeable about Bitcoin.

The survey found 47 per cent of women see the prospect of buying goods and services as a good reason to buy bitcoin, compared with just 34 per cent of men. Similarly, 47 per cent of women see the prospect of using bitcoin to send money to others as a good reason to buy Bitcoin, compared with 27 per cent of men. The Block Bitcoin Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among more than 9,500 adults worldwide between January 10 and January 28, 2022.

A multitude of other studies have tried to identify the demographic traits of crypto owners. Regardless of research country, these studies have been unambiguous – most crypto owners are young adults, “and the older you get, the less likely it is that you hold crypto,” according cryptocurrency analyst Arcane Research.

Bitcoin in retirement plans

But that may be soon change as crypto becomes more mainstream.  In April, one of the world’s biggest fund managers Fidelity Investments said it plans to allow investors to put Bitcoin into their 401(k) retirement savings plan, the first major retirement-plan provider in the US to do so. Later this year, the 23,000 companies that use Fidelity to administer their retirement plans will have Bitcoin as an investment option, as Bitcoin moves further into the mainstream, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Yet US companies have shown little interest in letting their employees rely on cryptocurrency for their retirement security. About 2 per cent of the 63 employers in a recent Plan Sponsor Council of America poll said they would consider adding cryptocurrency to their 401(k) menu.