Since the fall of 2017, the symbolic investment fund Blockchain Capital has commissioned national market research firm The Harris Poll every 18 months to survey about 2,000 adults across the US and measure their progress through what the fund calls’ n “crypto adoption funnel.”
According to this funnel model, an individual’s journey from cryptocurrencies awareness to ownership and use of cryptocurrencies takes place across three major stages: the learning phase, the conviction phase and the adoption phase.
The surveys commissioned by Blockchain Capital are designed to determine where US adults currently fit within this progressive journey and how it is evolving. Because the same questions are asked across all surveys, the results are an interesting way to track this progress.
“We’re trying to think of someone’s development from just hearing about Bitcoin to becoming an owner and consumer,” explained Spencer Bogart, General Partner of Blockchain Capital Bitcoin Magazine. “Throughout that process, consumers generally start with learning and then eventually develop a deeper conviction about Bitcoin’s prospects going forward.”
Blockchain Capital split takeaways from its latest survey, commissioned Oct. 7 to 9, 2020, in a recent Medium post from Bogart. It’s worth noting that the bitcoin price at this time is around $ 11,000 (far from the highest ever of more than $ 19,600 that reached the end of November). Respondents were selected from a pool of those who agreed to participate and the resulting data were weighted to reflect the composition of the US adult population
Moving Towards Conviction
Bogart noted that the highest-level takeaway from this survey was that it was indicative of the strongest growth in the crypto adoption funnel conviction phase, but previous iterations, from Fall 2017 and Spring 2019, saw the strongest growth in the period learning. This would indicate that adults in the US are making progress through Blockchain Capital’s idea of the journey towards adoption.
“The results of Fall 2020 saw the strongest growth in the ‘conviction’ phase of the funnel,” said Bogart. “My subjective interpretation of these results is that the general population is progressing through the adoption funnel and developing a greater conviction about the outlook for Bitcoin over the next decade.”
The survey found that the percentage of respondents who “strongly” or “somewhat” agreed with the statement that “most people will use Bitcoin in the next 10 years” has risen by 8 percentage points since the last survey, to 41 percent of all surveyed. Fifty-six percent of 18- to 34-year-olds and 57 percent of 35-44 year olds indicated that they strongly or partially agreed with the statement.
The survey also found that 26 percent of respondents prefer bitcoin over government bonds, 35 percent prefer bitcoin over stocks, 33 percent prefer bitcoin over real estate and prefer by 31 percent bitcoin than gold, all figures rising compared to the Spring 2019 survey.
As noted above, the survey was commissioned at a time when the price of bitcoin was relatively low. Despite this, the percentage of respondents who rated themselves as “right” or “somewhat” likely to buy bitcoin in the next five years rose seven percentage points from the last survey to reach 34 percent. Among respondents aged 18 to 34, that figure was 55 percent.
In a new question for this recent survey, Blockchain Capital asked respondents whether they expected the euro or bitcoin to last longer. Thirty-eight percent said they expect bitcoin to exist for longer, including 58 percent of respondents aged 18 to 34.
“I would point out that not only do a large percentage of people think that most of us will use Bitcoin within the next decade, but also that a surprisingly large percentage of people translate that conviction into a buying tendency bitcoin, ”said Bogart. “In addition, it is useful to see a conviction in Bitcoin’s longevity compared to a well-established global currency such as the euro.”
The remaining Adoption Barrier
Blockchain Capital found that cryptocurrency ownership has increased significantly since the last survey (23 percent in Fall 2020 versus 16 percent in Spring 2019), with bitcoin leading the pack, but there is a significant segment of respondents who have not join again. this final stage of the funnel.
“I think there is still plenty of room for growth around perception,” Bogart said. “We can certainly observe a fall in terms of the percentage of people who view Bitcoin favorably. I think any negative perception is largely attributable to Bitcoin’s perceived usefulness for illicit transactions and its volatility. If I had to guess, over time those two will become less important to the general population’s perception of Bitcoin. ”
Ultimately, the survey identifies expected growth along the crypto adoption funnel. That might not come as a surprise to many within the Bitcoin space, but it might be encouraging that the objective data from the public reinforces these convictions.
“Survey data helps highlight how Bitcoin has two incumbent tails of the passage of time,” concluded Bogart. “Firstly, each passing year, people become less skeptical about Bitcoin’s longevity and usefulness – we can see this in the growing figures across all age groups. Second, as time goes by, younger demographics – which are more heavily biased towards Bitcoin – currently risk a larger percentage of aggregate economic and investment activity. Both of these tails bode well for the future of Bitcoin. “
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