A couple of polls have come to our attention this week as the markets wobble again once more which may explain why. It seems there is still a lot of interest and desire for cryptocurrency and the wealth it could bring. Its been well accepted now from 8 years and the adoption is becoming mainstream globally slowly but surely but there is still a naivety when it comes to the investment strategy for the average person.
The Harris Poll discovered that the average American is looking investment a decent portion of their income into cryptocurrency in 2019 despite the global pump and dump.
The poll found differing opinions between those already invested and those considering or educating themselves on investing in cryptocurrency. Among respondents who fit this criterion, 24% were bullish on cryptocurrency, expecting it to continue to appreciate in price, despite the current bear trend, while 29% surveyed reported they felt the market was in for a further decline. Verdicts on market volatility, with 35% predicting that the price would continue to fluctuate wildly, with 12% reporting that prices become more stable.
As usual, stocks, bonds and real estate still hold the lion’s share of market interest, but curiosity is growing in conjunction with media exposure among U.S. investors that cryptocurrency might be the next big asset class. However, to make the big money it does seem like this would have been true some 6-8 years ago. It seems Americans are willing to risk a biased amount of their investment portfolio to strike it rich. We have covered how to responsibly trade and invest in cryptocurrency with a guide to trading cryptocurrency.
Harris Poll survey, commissioned on behalf of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), found of the 35% of Americans who classify themselves as current investors or plan to invest in 2019, cryptocurrency will make up 5% of their overall investment. To put that number into perspective Exchange-Traded-Funds (ETFs), which have dominated cryptocurrency headlines following the back and forth process through the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, constitute 8% of projected investment funds. With the SEC delaying decision, as reported last week, on VanEck’s bid to form a Bitcoin ETF to the end of September, it’s likely there will be a crossover of the two investment classes by the time 2019 rolls around.
The survey also sought to gauge education and understanding of the industry within America’s active investors. The poll reported just under 50% of respondents had “little to no understanding of cryptocurrency” strong evidence that the industry still has a long way to go before reaching market saturation and greater adoption.
On the flip side, a Russian survey report that 44% of Russians “have heard of cryptocurrency,” 13% claimed to have a “good understanding” and a whole 56% still don’t know what cryptocurrencies are yet. The survey also noted that 31 per cent of respondents answered that they can “imagine what cryptocurrencies are, but do not have an exact clear understanding of them.”
Russia is a society of black market dealings and heavy corruption from top to bottom across many segments of the industry, so naturally there is heavy scepticism of another perceived “get rich quick scheme.” Interestingly, one of the major takeaways which contradict the Harris poll was the finding of a strong relationship between income and knowledge of the crypto sphere: people with lower incomes tended to know more about cryptocurrency.
