An online survey commissioned by ING, the Dutch multinational bank, and conducted by Ipsos, the global market research and consulting firm has shed more light on cryptocurrency use and outlook by European, Australian, and U.S. consumers.
The survey had a total sample size of 14,828 respondents over 15 countries with about 1,000 respondents from each country with the exception of Luxembourg, which had 500 respondents. The countries included in the survey were Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, USA, and Australia. The survey was conducted during March of this year, which is when Bitcoin was well down from its high price.
A stand out section of the study revealed that 35% of European Consumers said “Digital currencies (such as Bitcoin) are the future of spending online”. While 31% of USA consumers and 18% of Australian consumers said the same thing. The percentage increased to 40% agreeing that cryptocurrencies are the future of online spending when the sample was segmented to only include consumers who use mobile banking. Of consumers that do not use mobile banking, only 22% agreed with the statement, which indicates that mobile banking might be a gateway to cryptocurrency usage. The study went on to highlight several other consumer opinions of cryptocurrencies.
Insights from cryptocurrency opinions in Europe
Interestingly, but not unpredictable, cryptocurrency opinions are the most favorable in countries that have historically had political, financial, and monetary issues. Turkey, Romania, Spain, Poland, and Italy consistently ranked near the top of having favorable opinions of cryptocurrencies. Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, and Turkey had 8%, 10%, 11%, 12%, and 18% (the highest), respectively, responding “yes” to the statement that “I own some cryptocurrency”. Responding “yes” to the statement “I expect to own cryptocurrency in the future”, Italy (24%), Poland (29%), Spain (32%), Romania (38%), and Turkey (45%) scored in the top five positions. However, the study did highlight a potential survey bias towards younger professionals with larger exposure to media and technology in Turkey.
Additionally, the survey asked respondents “[w]ould you use cryptocurrency to buy a cup of coffee; receive your pay; pay taxes; pay your monthly electricity bill; buy a plane fare; make an international payment for a product you buy online; or save for your child’s university fees?” Making an international payment had the highest number of affirmative responses at 30%, while buying a plane ticket came in second with 26% of respondents. However, “younger people and countries with lower per-capita income levels (Poland, Romania, Spain, Turkey and Italy) were more likely to “consider paying with cryptocurrency”, according to the study. This indicates that consumers are more open to using cryptocurrencies for non-traditional items that are usually associated with high cross-boarder fees.
Since cryptocurrencies are a really new technology, consumers have to learn about it from somewhere, which is why the study asked where consumers would go to find out more information about cryptocurrency. Other than the opt-out option of choosing to never buy cryptocurrencies, “[s]pecialist websites seem the preferred source of information on potential Bitcoin investments in 11 of 15 countries”, while “[i]n Spain, Luxembourg and France, we see a preference for financial or bank advisors instead.” This highlights the important and growing role that online communities are playing in spreading knowledge of cryptocurrencies as opposed to the traditional sector of advisors.
Dash is capitalizing on a growing trend
While the response statistics may be relatively small, they are still large and increasing for a sector that is only a decade old and Dash is only a few years old. Dash is capitalizing on the increasing trend of interest in cryptocurrencies by making a product and service that is consumer friendly and usable in everyday life. Dash has consistently maintained low transaction fees, fast confirmation times, and security making it viable for everyday transactions no matter how small or large. In addition, Dash is continuously working to improve the user experience to minimize switching costs and make Dash as user friendly as possible for consumers of all backgrounds. Dash is also able to professionally fund community outreach and education to give in-person advice, support, and trust to potential new users.
The combination of these features makes Dash relevant to individuals in countries that suffer from political, financial, and monetary issues, as well as countries that are already relatively successful. Dash provides improvements for all individuals when it comes to currency. This has allowed Dash to steadily increase its transaction numbers through wider adoption and usage. As the ING and Ipsos study showed, cryptocurrencies still have relatively small adoption in Europe, Australia, and the USA, but Dash is well positioned to change that by offering real-world solutions to problems individuals face, while also minimizing the learning curve of using cryptocurrencies.
