Category: Surveys

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Crypto News Investing Markets Surveys

Gemini Report Reveals 80% of Aussie Crypto Investors are HODLers

The first global state of crypto report from cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has found that over 80 percent of Australian crypto investors opt to hold their assets long-term. 

The high percentage of committed HODLers in Australia is similar to figures found in other parts of the world – from 72 percent in the Middle East to 85 percent in the US.

The survey, which was conducted online between November 23, 2021, and February 4, 2022,  asked 30,000 people from 20 countries about their attitudes and behaviour relating to cryptocurrency investments in an effort to uncover trends and characterise the current state of the market.

Percentage of investors who buy and hold, and actively trade, by region. Source: Gemini 2022 Global State of Crypto report

2021 a Huge Year for Adoption in Australia and Globally

Another of the major takeaways from the report was just how big a year it was for crypto adoption – 43 percent of Australians surveyed said they first invested in crypto in 2021. Curiously, this finding contrasts sharply with a survey from Saxo Markets released late last year that found only one in 10 Australians had any idea what crypto is.

Globally, the Gemini survey found the 2021 adoption numbers were even higher – 44 percent of Americans surveyed said 2021 was the year they got into crypto, and over half of all respondents from Brazil (51%), Hong Kong (51%) and India (54%) said 2021 was the first time they’d bought crypto.

Future Looks Bright

Based on the findings from its survey, the Gemini report is bullish about the future of crypto, stating:

In 2021, cryptocurrency reached a tipping point, evolving from what many considered a niche investment into a global, established asset class.

2022 Gemini Global State of Crypto report

The report also points out that the overall crypto market capitalisation topped out at almost US$3 trillion in 2021, making crypto the best performing asset class of the past decade.

Another report released late last year by digital asset management firm Mawson was similarly positive, finding that the crypto market in Australia could grow to over A$68 billion by 2030.

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Crypto News DeFi NFTs Social media Surveys

Twitter Marketing Report: Crypto and NFT Topics Explode 240%

Twitter Trends 2022 has given us the statistics on the hottest topics on Twitter and has revealed some interesting, but not surprising, results. For instance, talk about non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and crypto topics in general has surged an astonishing 242 percent.

The Twitter report’s findings suggest that the three top trends are:

  • “The Great Restoration”, healing the planet by healing ourselves;
  • “Fan-built Worlds”, digital communities calling the shots; and
  • “Finance Goes Social”, speaking to many of the Gen Z and Millennial population getting into investing – especially in digital assets.

300 Million Tweets About Crypto in the Past Three Months

Twitter users alone have posted almost 300 million tweets regarding digital assets. Twitter’s report revealed its biggest trends over the past two years, and finance – including digital assets – is number one on the list. Financial tweets have gone up by 78 percent year-over-year among average users, meaning the subject has gained traction even among non-professionals who do not work in the industry.

Money matters used to be closely held secrets of the few. But these days, a new crowd’s getting in on the action – and having fun.

Twitter Trends 2022

The most talked-about crypto topics on Twitter include Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple, followed by Cardano, DeFi, Coinbase and Binance.

Discussions of topics such as stablecoins, NFT marketplaces, decentralised apps and decentralised exchanges have ballooned by 242 percent – with DAOs another hot topic under the heading of “user-empowered communities”.

Some Words of Wisdom from Twitter

Twitter offered some advice to businesses and content creators recommending finding ways to make a brand more entertaining, exciting and inclusive. And while companies are dropping NFTs left, right and centre, the social network encourages giving a greater deal of thought to why digital assets are being offered in the first place:

“Don’t blindly jump on the NFT bandwagon – create something that’s meaningful to your community. For example, a sportswear brand didn’t just drop a logo NFT, they put their gear on the hottest NFT avatars to connect two passions their fans care about.”

Seems the NFT Bubble Has Burst (For Now)

The NFT bubble might have finally burst, with weekly NFT sales trending downward and interest in the sector dropping 45 percent over a 30-day period in late January and February 2022. Worldwide Google Trends data shows that interest plunged 45 percent in terms of internet searches. During the second week of January, the search query “NFT” sat comfortably at 100, the highest trend score a query can register, but by early March had dropped almost half to a score of 55.

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Australia Crypto News Surveys

Survey Reveals That More Than Half of Aussies Will Never Invest in Crypto

A survey by consumer insights provider Toluna has revealed that 52 percent of Australians have no interest or intention of ever investing in cryptocurrencies. The survey also found that 51 percent in the Asia-Pacific region believe that crypto is high-risk.

APAC had the highest perception of risk re crypto. Source: Toluna survey

Resistance to Crypto In Australia Highest in the World

Globally cryptos are met with resistance in that 43 percent perceive them to be a risky investment, with 40 percent citing lack of knowledge of the space as the main reason for hesitation. The survey however found that resistance to cryptocurrency in Australia is significantly higher than in the rest of the world and within the Asia-Pacific region.

Globally, 10 percent of survey respondents indicated they would never invest in the space and a whopping 20 percent of people in developed APAC (Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong) nations believed that digital currencies or assets were just hype. Fear of crypto’s associated risks seems to be the main reason for investment hesitation by 44 percent of Australians, while 34 percent cited their lack of understanding of digital assets. While the global average for lack of awareness of crypto is 61 percent, Australia sits at 65 percent.

Age Is a Key Factor

According to Toluna, “The study found that older respondents were more sceptical about crypto and regard it as ‘hype’, while younger respondents were more positive about crypto becoming a genuine currency in the long term.”

The study found that among Gen Z respondents, those aged between 18 and 24, 53 percent globally thought cryptocurrencies would take an upward trend over the long run, while 38 percent of Baby Boomers (aged 57-64) and 22 percent of Gen Xers (41-56) regarded digital assets as a bubble that would soon burst.

Crypto is clearly favoured by the younger generation. Source: Toluna survey

The results found by the study confirm an earlier survey reported by Crypto News Australia which found that only one in 10 Australians knows what a cryptocurrency is, with individuals older than 65 knowing even less. Gender also plays a role in terms of crypto knowledge. In Australia, around 21 percent of men claim to know something of worth regarding cryptos, while only seven percent of women do.

A ‘Global Crypto Awareness’ survey conducted last October compiled a list of the world’s top 10 crypto aware countries; Australia barely made the list, scoring only 3.77/10. Perhaps crypto education and a clear regulatory framework are needed to increase adoption in Australia.

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Bitcoin Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Payments Surveys

Survey: 24% of Small Businesses Plan to Accept Crypto This Year

According to a survey conducted by Visa, almost a quarter of small businesses across nine countries around the world plan to accept cryptocurrencies as a form of payment in 2022, as crypto holders increasingly want to use their assets to shop.

One in Four SMBs Plans to Accept Crypto as Payment

Almost one in four small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) that participated in the sixth edition of Visa’s global Back to Business study indicated its intention to accept payments in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. The survey consisted of 2,250 small businesses owners in countries including the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Canada, Brazil, Singapore and the US.

In the same survey, 73 percent of respondents indicated that accepting new forms of digital payment options will be a key factor affecting business growth in 2022. Of all respondents in the study, 82 percent said they planned to implement a form of digital payment option this year.

Visa found that more than 30 percent of SMBs in the UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore and Brazil planned to offer cryptos as a payment option in the coming months. By contrast, 19 percent of SMBs in the US and a mere eight percent in Canada expected to do so.

The survey also included a consumer section where 1,500 adults across nine markets participated. More than half of respondents in this section expected to go completely cashless within the next 10 years, while 41 percent indicated that customers had abandoned a physical purchase where digital payment options were not available.

Accepting Crypto Not for Everyone

Although accepting crypto payments has become more widespread and not limited to SMBs, not all businesses are convinced that the option is for them. In an exciting reveal last week, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky confirmed that the home-stay site is working to accept crypto in 2022, in response to huge demand from its customer base.

Last week, Mozilla Foundation, the non-profit organisation behind open-source web browser Firefox, announced it would be accepting crypto donations to “keep the Web open and free”. Only days later the foundation reversed its decision, citing concerns regarding “cryptocurrency’s environmental impact”.

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Australia Crypto News Investing Surveys

Survey: 83% of Millennial Millionaires Own Crypto and Intend to Buy More

A new survey by CNBC reveals that a majority of millennial millionaires have invested a good portion of their wealth in cryptos and plan to invest even more in the coming year, despite the recent price declines.

According to the survey, which polled investors with investible assets of US$1 million or more, over half – 53 percent – of respondents indicated that they hold 50 percent or more of their portfolios in crypto investments, with one-third of respondents having already invested at least three-quarters of their portfolios in crypto assets. This is in stark contrast with older generations of millionaires, as only 4 percent of baby boomers hold any cryptos whatsoever and 75 percent of Gen X investors own none at all.

Millennials Bullish on Cryptos

The survey results suggest that cryptos are causing a vast generational divide between investing and wealth creation. While cryptos have become the primary source of wealth creation and asset growth for many younger investors who got in early and saw massive returns, older generations of millionaires are still largely sceptical of digital wealth.

George Walper, president of Spectrem Group – who conducted the survey on behalf of CNBC – noted that rising interest in the cryptos market could become an issue for wealth managers, stating:

I’m not sure the wealth management industry has recognised that they need to think of these as completely different generations. Most firms were hoping to ignore it. But millennial millionaires are not going to just grow out of crypto.

George Walper, president, Spectrem Group

The survey has also highlighted the risk appetite of younger generations regarding crypto investments, with 48 percent of millennial investors planning to add to their crypto portfolios in the coming year, while 38 percent plan to hold. Only six percent indicated that they intend to reduce their crypto exposure in 2022.

Australian Investors Increasingly Interested in Cryptos

Australia is becoming one of the market leaders in terms of crypto adoption, especially among its millennial population, with cryptos expected to overtake fiat in Australia by 2029. During the past year, the country has seen a 10 percent growth in crypto adoption, up from 18.4 percent in 2020.

Recently it was revealed that Australians seem to be increasing their interest in alternative investments, with 40 percent of millennials opting for digital asset investment over traditional assets such as real estate. A new report also reveals that Australians have accumulated over A$7 billion in cryptos assets, with 31 percent of the Gen Z population leading the investment charge.

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Australia Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Surveys

Adoption Rate Grows as +28% of Australians Now Own Crypto, Latest Report Shows

Almost three in 10 Australians now own (or have owned) crypto, according to the 2021 Independent Reserve Cryptocurrency Index (IRCI), released this week.

Conducted nationally, the third annual IRCI survey revealed the following key points:

  • Exactly 28.8 percent of Australians now own or have owned crypto (up from 18.4 percent in 2020).
  • The proportion of women who own crypto has almost doubled from 10.1 percent in 2020 to 20 percent.
  • Up from 78 percent in 2020, 89 percent of Aussie crypto owners report having made money or broken even.
  • Bitcoin remains the most popular cryptocurrency with 89.1 percent of Australians aware of it and 21.1 percent owning it.

2021 a ‘Bumper Year’ for the Australian Crypto Industry

By its own reckoning, the IRCI survey provides a benchmark for the awareness, trust and confidence everyday Australians place in digital currencies. In the words of Independent Reserve CEO Adrian Przelozny, “This has been a bumper year for the crypto industry, with new products like ETFs hitting the market and providing more alternative investment opportunities for Australians, but the sector still desperately needs regulation to catch up and provide greater security for both investors and cryptocurrency businesses”.

“Our IRCI results this year support this, with 28.6 percent of Australians who don’t currently own crypto telling us they would invest if there were better consumer protections in place. Another 26.6 percent said they’d buy crypto if industry regulation was improved.

Although Australian regulators and government agencies may have taken a while to get their heads around cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, Australians themselves have sped ahead and we’re really seeing that in past year, as an asset class, crypto has gone from the fringe to the mainstream.

Adrian Przelozny, CEO, Independent Reserve

Bitcoin Still King Down Under

Unsurprisingly, the IRCI survey found that Bitcoin remains the best-known and most popular cryptocurrency, with almost nine in 10 Australians saying they’ve heard of it and more than one in five owning it. The next ranked crypto is Ethereum, at 11 percent (up from 5 percent ownership in 2020).

Another poll conducted by Coinspot earlier in 2021 contained a bold prediction from some Australians that bitcoin would pass the A$100,000 mark by the end of this year.

Millennials and Gen Z Lead the Crypto Charge

Unsurprisingly, the 24-34-year-old age group was the most trusting of crypto, with 27.6 percent saying they bought in expressly to get rich. Doubters were most likely to be found in the 65+ age group.

Comparison site Finder reported in its September survey that Australians had amassed over A$7 billion in crypto with 31 percent of the Gen Z population leading the investment charge, a figure that had effectively doubled since January 2021.

If you’re looking to open an account with Independent Reserve, who also announced a sponsorship deal with the Sydney Swans AFL team this week, you can follow some simple steps here and could be buying crypto within minutes.

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Crypto News Surveys

Can You Beat 96% of Americans Who Fail This Crypto Literacy Test?

This has arguably been the year for crypto, as growing institutionalisation and investment in the sector in 2021 have pushed it firmly into mainstream consciousness. Notwithstanding its breakout performance, a recent report suggests that up to 98 percent of people lack even a basic grasp of crypto.

Crypto Knowledge is Weak

According to the study published by cryptoliteracy.org, a rudimentary understanding of cryptocurrency fundamentals remains elusive for most, even in a bull market.

The study consisted of 17 questions pertaining to cryptocurrency, bitcoin, decentralised finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and general sentiment.

One of the key findings was that “ownership is the best teacher”. Those who owned a digital asset were more than twice as likely to outperform those who didn’t.

2021 Crypto Literacy Report Suggests 96% of Americans Fail to Comprehend Basic Crypto Knowledge
Source: cryptoliteracy.org

It also revealed that around a third of respondents felt purchasing crypto was easy, suggesting that for outsiders, the user experience and complexities in the space remain a significant barrier to entry.

Interestingly, ownership tended to skew towards the educated and wealthy, rather than the lower strata of society who stand to gain the most from digital asset ownership.

Source: cryptoliteracy.org

Use Cases Vary

The report found that a quarter of Brazilians and a third of Mexican respondents would use crypto to pay for goods and services, compared to only 13 percent of American respondents.

Fifty percent of Americans advised they would utilise crypto as a way to save for the future. Younger generations are nearly three times more likely to use crypto as a means of payment than older generations who see it more as an investment.

cryptoliteracy.org

What Can We Learn?

For those who spend a lot of time in the crypto space, it’s worth reflecting from time to time that it is still very early and that broader adoption hasn’t even begun. Despite global adoption increasing by 880 percent over the year, only 31 percent of Gen Z Aussies own crypto.

In a world of Bitcoin, altcoins, shitcoins, memecoins, tokens, smart contracts, DeFi, NFTs, DAOs, stablecoins, CBDCs and more, there is simply an overwhelming amount of new content for the average person to wrap their head around.

The lack of crypto literacy among those who haven’t invested is therefore completely understandable, particularly in light of the complexities in the space and the complete paradigm shift required to gain a proper understanding.

However, to those who are invested, it is always worth remembering the words of Warren Buffett, the sixth-richest person on Earth with a fortune in excess of US$100 billion:

Investment must be rational; if you can’t understand it, don’t do it.

Warren Buffett

To optimise the prospects of a successful investment, a solid understanding underpinned by strong research is imperative. That, and a bit of luck to boot.

The importance of doing your own research (DYOR). Source: Memegenerator.net

Keen to see how your crypto knowledge stacks up? Take the test to see if you make the grade.

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Australia Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Surveys

Australia Lags in Global ‘Crypto Awareness’ Survey

Australia has only just scraped into a list of the world’s top 10 crypto-aware countries, according to research by comparison platform BrokerChooser.

With a score of 3.77/10, Australia is the ninth most crypto-aware country, just ahead of Singapore but finishing behind the likes of Nigeria, the UK, India and South Africa.

Ukraine Tops the Table

Ukraine, with a total score of 7.97, topped the chart with Russia a close second at 7.46. The US ranked third on 6.03, with Kenya the surprise performer at fourth, just over half a point behind.

BrokerChooser comparison table.

According to the BrokerChooser data, 857,553 Australians are crypto owners, which amounts to 3.36 per cent of the population. However, the adoption rate of crypto in Australia (0.21 percent) falls way short of the US and Russia (0.627 and 0.931 percent, respectively).

The number of crypto owners appears to be highest in India, Russia and Nigeria but that’s based on a percentage of ownership and an adoption rate relative to the population. Even on this parameter Ukraine scores the highest, with 12.73 percent of its population owning some form of crypto. The former Soviet country has also followed El Salvador in passing a bill to legalise and regulate bitcoin, as reported by Crypto News Australia last month.

In compiling the survey, the available data on parameters such as the number of crypto owners, the global crypto adoption index, and search frequency was assessed against the population of each country.

All of these factors coalesced in a crypto awareness score, which ranks countries according to their population’s interest and awareness of cryptocurrency and its trading.

Other Surveys Beg to Differ

Giving the lie to Australia’s lowly performance in this survey was another carried out by TradingView in May, which concluded that cryptocurrencies are the second most preferred assets of Australians, outranking traditional assets such as bonds and futures.

A September report also revealed that Australians have amassed over A$7 billion in crypto with 31 percent of the Gen Z population leading the investment charge, a figure that has doubled since January.

That report, compiled by comparison site Finder, also found that 17 per cent of Australians own cryptocurrency, while a further 13 per cent said they intended to buy digital assets within the next year.

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Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Surveys

One-Third of the World’s 100 Biggest Companies Have a Positive Crypto Stance

The latest Blockdata research has found that 32 of the world’s top 100 publicly traded businesses have a positive attitude to cryptocurrencies, proving that even large organisations can no longer afford to ignore digital assets.

According to the research, of the top 100 firms 32 have a positive attitude toward cryptocurrency, 61 maintain a neutral perspective, and only seven have an opposing stance.

Those 32 businesses deemed favourable toward cryptocurrencies included one or more of the following criteria:

  • The business accepts cryptocurrency as a form of payment and provides connected goods or services.
  • The business keeps cryptocurrency in its treasury or recruits employees to work on developing cryptocurrency-related goods or services.
  • The business has senior leaders who have spoken in favour of cryptocurrency in the past two years.

Financial Institutions Are Changing Their Minds on Crypto

Of particular note is that many of these 32 businesses are financial institutions that were previously sceptical about cryptocurrencies but are progressively changing their minds due to customer demand.

Of the 61 businesses deemed neutral, 59 were considered so due to the absence of any public statements on cryptocurrencies by the company or its senior executive officers.

Top 100 Public Companies’ Stance on Cryptocurrency. Source: Blockdata

Most of the top 100 firms are involved in a line of business that is not immediately impacted by cryptocurrencies. As a best-case scenario, these businesses may utilise cryptocurrencies for transactions with partners. Conversely, they may incorporate cryptos into their treasury holdings to offset losses incurred by holding inflationary currencies such as the US Dollar.

The two exceptions are Microsoft, which has developed a Decentralised Identity system on the Bitcoin blockchain and intends to build further solutions, though this is not an endorsement of crypto; and Alibaba, which has tried to launch crypto-related projects, but none has succeeded.

The companies deemed negative on cryptocurrencies, regardless of whether they provide related goods or services, have been openly critical of cryptocurrencies or have limited customers’ ability to engage in crypto-related activities.

Other Surveys Flag Up to 76% Interest in Crypto

Last month’s 2021 Global Blockchain Survey, conducted by multinational accounting firm Deloitte, revealed that 76 percent of people believe crypto will be a strong alternative to, or outright replace, fiat money within the next decade.

A month before that, as also reported by Crypto News Australia, multinational financial services corporation Fidelity Digital Assets published a survey that revealed 70 percent of institutional investors were interested in buying cryptocurrencies.

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Crypto News Nigeria South Africa Surveys

P2P Drives Africa’s Soaring Crypto Adoption, Up 1200% Since 2020

Whether one is a sceptic or proponent, this past year has undoubtedly been crypto’s breakout year. Global adoption is up some 880 percent, but it is the African continent that has seen the most dramatic increase, according to a recent blogpost by Chainalysis.

Cryptocurrency value received by Africa, July 2020 – June 2021. Source: Chainalysis
 

According to Chainalysis, the African crypto market has grown by 1,200 percent (in value received) over the past year. Estimates put these figures at approximately US$105.6 billion between July 2020 and June 2021.

Africans Use Crypto Differently

As noted by Chainalysis’ report, emerging markets tend to turn to crypto to preserve their savings in the face of currency devaluation, send and receive remittances, and carry out business transactions. By contrast, in developed markets it is driven more by institutional investment.

Despite being the smallest market by a long way, Africa enjoys some of the highest grassroots adoption in the world with Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania ranking within the top 20 of Chainalysis’ Global Crypto Adoption Index.

Supporting the notion of grassroots adoption, retail-sized transfers comprised 7 percent of transaction volume, compared to the global average of 5.5 percent.

Retail share of the market. Source: Chainalysis

Growing Popularity of P2P (Peer-to-Peer) Platforms

One of the important trends in the African crypto adoption story is the enormous growth in transaction volumes on P2P platforms (adjusted for purchasing power per capita and internet-using population). One of the main reasons for this is the lack of access to trusted, centralised exchanges. In other instances, central banks (such as in Nigeria) and retail banks often have made it difficult for customers to transfer funds across to centralised exchanges. The chart below illustrates growth in two of the more popular P2P exchanges:

Trading volumes for Localbitcoin and Paxful in USD. Source: UsefulTulips.org

Compared to other regions, Africa’s P2P bitcoin volume is a lot higher, particularly in developed regions. Importantly, since so much trade is done informally, the figures below are probably lower than reality:

P2P share of transaction volume, July ’20 – June ’21. Source: Chainalysis

Remittances Play a Big Role

Crypto-based remittances are also increasing in Africa. Some of that is attributed to the growth in international commercial transactions as Africans use crypto to pay for goods to import and sell at home.

Estimated remittance payments in Africa, July ’20 – June ’21. Source: Chainalysis

Wealth Preservation a Natural Consequence

In general, African countries tend to suffer from relative high levels of economic instability and currency depreciation. As the phrase goes: “bitcoin fixes this”. Africans would appear to have taken heed. Note the inverse correlation since May 2020 between P2P trading volume and currency depreciation in the Kenyan shilling. The case couldn’t be any clearer:

Kenyan shilling depreciation v P2P trading volumes. Source: Chainalysis