A new Wells Fargo/Gallup poll shows an overwhelming majority of investors are staying away from Bitcoin despite some interest.
They say you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. The same could be said for investors when it comes to Bitcoin (BTC). The number one cryptocurrency may have had a rough first half of 2018, but the coin is still worth three times more now than it was a year ago. Yet a new poll shows that most investors are staying away from BTC.
No Plans on Buying Bitcoin
A new Wells Fargo/Gallup poll shows some interesting statistics when it comes to investors and the world’s foremost cryptocurrency. First, the poll shows that the vast majority of investors surveyed (96 percent) have heard of BTC. The intriguing feature of the survey is that a whopping 72 percent have no plans on buying the cryptocurrency.
In fact, only 2 percent(!) actually own Bitcoin. Some investors are “intrigued” by BTC (26 percent) but have no plans on buying any in the near future. Investor interest is so small that less than 0.5 percent will probably buy Bitcoin any time soon.
Such small numbers are due to a lack of confidence in the virtual currency by investors. A full 75 percent of investors consider BTC to be very risky, while only 23 percent consider it somewhat risky. Only 2 percent (probably the same ones who own Bitcoin) consider the cryptocurrency “not too risky.”
Age and Investment Level Matters
What is interesting is how age and the total amount of investment one holds pertains to Bitcoin interest. Only 16 percent of investors age 65 and older know anything about BTC, with 17 percent of them interested but not planning on buying any. These numbers increase to 22 percent (know something) and 20 percent (interested but not buying) for those 50 and older. For investors between the ages of 18 and 49, these numbers jump to 48 percent (know something) and 41 percent (interested but not buying).
The more a person has in investment assets, the less likely they are to be into cryptocurrency. For those who have over $100,000 in investments, only 25 percent know something about Bitcoin while 23 percent have some interest but are not buying at the moment. A different picture is painted for those with a smaller investment total. Investors with less than $100,000 in invested assets, the percentage of those who know something about BTC is a stellar 39 percent, and 33 percent are interested but are not currently buying.
This poll shows that younger investors, who will also have a lower amount of investment assets due to their age, are far more likely to be interested in cryptocurrency. The older, wealthier crowd, such as Warren Buffett, are shying away and may even be actively hostile to BTC. This makes sense as younger people are willing to adopt innovative new technologies while older generations prefer to stick with what’s comfortable.
Such numbers may change in the future. A greater number of financial giants are becoming involved in the cryptocurrency marketplace, which will make it easier and safer for institutional investors to become involved. Plus, some exchanges, such as Coinbase, are rolling out special tools for such major league investors.
Were you surprised by these poll results? Let us know in the comments below.
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