A recent study suggests that 99% of people from Mexico and Brazil and 96% of Americans fail to grasp the basic concepts of cryptocurrencies. Of all survey respondents who know about bitcoin, 17% in the United States, 15% in Brazil, and 14% in Mexico own the crypto asset. The report published by cryptoliteracy.org further explains that 9 out of 10 survey respondents did not know that Bitcoin’s supply is capped off at 21 million.
Despite Bull Run in 2021, study shows crypto knowledge is lacking in US, Mexico and Brazil
According to a study published by cryptoliteracy.org, understanding of cryptocurrency fundamentals is low in 2021. The researchers leveraged a Yougov survey to sample roughly 1,000 participants who are aware of cryptocurrencies from each country. The study included 17 questions relating to cryptocurrency, bitcoin, decentralized finance (challenge), non-fungible tokens (NFT) and general sentiment. One of the key findings in the survey notes that “ownership is the best teacher,” which meant that survey participants that owned a digital currency, were twice as likely to answer the 17-question quiz correctly.
The cryptoliteracy.org report explains that only 33% of respondents thought buying crypto assets was easy today. Furthermore, the survey believes “crypto is failing its mission of financial inclusion.” According to the survey results, ownership tends to designate wealthy and highly educated users at this point. Additionally, older generations are “left behind,” in regard to cryptocurrency comprehension, as 67% of U.S. ‘Baby Boomers’ had a “lack of crypto knowledge.”
Survey shows young people are more likely to spend cryptocurrency, while older generations see it as an investment
Other key findings from the survey indicate that Mexicans and Brazilians are more likely to buy and sell cryptos over the next six months. Meanwhile, use cases can vary by geography and generation, the study details.
“25% of Brazilians and a third of Mexicans would use crypto to pay for goods and services. Just 13% of American respondents advised they would do so,” the cryptoliteracy.org study highlights. The survey adds:
50% of Americans have indicated that they will use 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.
Basic bitcoin knowledge regarding the protocol’s funding cap is also greatly lacking among survey participants. “Bitcoin’s computer code-based issuance schedule is what makes it so unique and different from central banks controlled by politicians,” the study’s authors explain. Yet 9 in 10 survey respondents did not understand the basic concepts of bitcoin supply and demand (such as the capped supply of $ 21 million).
