Bitcoin Price Boom Wins Over the British Public

Cryptocurrency giant Bitcoin has once again topped its historical all-time high by smashing the $50,000 ceiling, climbing as high as $58,234.25 before settling at around $53,000. While there are still more detractors than there are evangelists in the virtual currency space one country where the results are beginning to sway popular opinion in Great Britain.

Is Crypto A Young Person's Game?

Data science firm PIPLSAY released a report outlining the current British sentiment towards Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, specifically taking into account the Gen Z (1997-2015) vs Millennial (1981-1996) vs Gen X (1965-1980) debate that flares up online:

• 35% of Gen Z’ers and Millennials each understand cryptocurrency as compared to 29% of Gen X’ers
• 39% of Millennials and Gen Z’ers each think cryptocurrency is safe as compared to 22% of Gen X’ers
• 37% of Gen Z’ers and 27% of Millennials plan to invest in cryptocurrency in 2021

Unsurprisingly younger generations who have grown up with digital currency conversations and online investments as their “norm” are more accepting of cryptocurrencies and have a deeper understanding of their inner workings.

 The Court of Public Opinion

The UK is not often seen as being as forward-thinking as the Americas, China and even the UAE when it comes to the early adoption of new financial vehicles. Given that the country is deeply rooted in fiat currencies and investments there was an expectation of resistance to cryptocurrencies.

PIPLSAY surveyed more than 6000 Britons from 12-14 February 2021, and rather than the expected resistance they found that by and large the public is beginning to buy into the potential of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a whole.

Here are some of the questions the survey covered:

✓Do you understand Cryptocurrency?

Of the respondents 54% claimed they understood how cryptocurrencies work, this result proves that the information sharing done by the crypto-community is effective in reaching the right people.

✓Do you feel cryptocurrency is safe?

For a relatively new area of development based on groundbreaking new technology, it was fantastic to see 42% of Britons state that they believed virtual currencies to be safe and secure.

Of the 31% who said they did not feel it was safe, it is very likely that more than half of them will change their minds as more information is shared on the topic. This is based on the fact that 29% were concerned about hacking and 26% wanted more education on the subject. A little clarity on how the blockchain works and its incredible security features could see that 31% shrink to 15%.

✓Is the stock market or crypto the riskier investment vehicle?

When asked whether they felt safer investing in the stock market or cryptocurrency 41%, 2489 respondents out of 6070, felt that they both represented an equal risk-reward potential. This was by far one of the most intriguing responses in the survey given that the stock market, specifically the London Stock Exchange, is deeply entrenched in the British psyche.

It was interesting to see that 14% of the respondents felt that the stock market was riskier than cryptocurrencies. Rather than true faith crypto-technology, this could be residual distrust in the UK financial sector given its fairly recent collapse, which many British families and businesses have not yet fully recovered from.

✓Should household brands offer cryptocurrency payment options?

Building on the recent news that Tesla, Microsoft and even PayPal have adopted cryptocurrency as a transactional vehicle PIPLSAY asked if household names such as Tesco, Amazon and Apple should follow their example. The response was overwhelmingly positive with 46% saying this is a development they want to see happen in the near future.