A brand-new study into consumer confidence in cryptocurrencies has been released today, revealing two-thirds of Europeans have faith the digital assets will still exist in 10-years’ time, however the majority are still uncertain to how they will be used. The research, commissioned by bitFlyer, the world’s largest bitcoin exchange by trading volumes1, polled 10,000 respondents across 10 countries in Europe.
The research reveals Norway to be leading the most optimistic countries confident in the future of cryptocurrency, with almost three-quarters (73%) believing they will still exist in some form. France, on the other hand, is less confident with just over half (55%) believing in the longevity of crypto’s existence. However, the results demonstrate that every European country polled showed a majority in support of cryptocurrencies. See Table 1 below for more detail.
In addition to asking respondents whether they believe bitcoin will still exist, the study also dug deeper to uncover what consumers think the real use cases for bitcoin will be in future and how cryptocurrencies will solidify their place within their respective market. The results show the majority are still very much uncertain.
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Almost one in 10 (8%) Europeans believe bitcoin will be fully ingrained into society as a form of currency in 10 years’ time, and only 7% believe it will be used as a security or investment. See Table 2 below for more detail.
According to the research, generally, men are more optimistic in this with 9% believing bitcoin could become an additional form of currency; this number falls to just 6% for women.
The country divide shows a slightly different picture; Poland and Italy top the countries who believe bitcoin could become a form of currency with 10% of both countries believing this. The UK on the other hand differs at the bottom of the ranking, with just 6% believing in bitcoin becoming a form of currency in the future.
However, the research reveals Europeans as a whole are slightly more confident in bitcoin becoming a form of currency (8%) than simply used for investment or security (7%). In fact, it’s only Poland that breaks this trend as the one country more confident that bitcoin will be used for investment and security. Interestingly, Norway who in other areas of the study have proved to be extremely optimistic on crypto’s uses and longevity, overwhelmingly do not believe bitcoin will exist as an investment and security tool just 6% voted in favour of this.
Andy Bryant, COO at bitFlyer Europe said, “These results indicate that the reputation of cryptocurrency has moved beyond hype and become more established. It’s very easy to forget just how new cryptocurrencies still are; we’ve only just celebrated bitcoin’s 10th birthday, so for the majority of consumers to believe in crypto’s future is without a doubt an achievement.
“The next step is for the industry to better promote the benefits and use cases of cryptocurrencies to consumers, so that people understand how they will come to be used in society.”
Bitcoin vs other Cryptocurrencies
The results also reveal an interesting disparity between confidence in cryptocurrencies as a whole and bitcoin specifically. According to the study, fewer Europeans have confidence in bitcoin existing in 10 years’ (49%) time than they do other cryptocurrencies (63%), revealing that whilst bitcoin may have been the first to revolutionise the market, consumers have more faith in new and emerging cryptocurrencies solidifying their place within society. See Table 3 below for more detail.
Andy Bryant, COO at bitFlyer Europe, said: “The fact that bitcoin is not generating as much support as other cryptocurrencies is in part a symptom of the market’s volatility, but is also a direct impact of the constant media attention that is associated to its volatility. We of course believe that bitcoin is here to stay, and while we’re encouraged to see the large majority of Europeans think the same, this research shows there is much more to be done to demonstrate to consumers the benefits of and use cases across all cryptocurrencies more widely.”
Tables of results
Table 1: The percentage of consumers who believe cryptocurrencies will still exist in 10-years’ time:
| 1 | Norway | 73% |
| 2 | Italy | 68% |
| 3= | Netherlands | 67% |
| 3= | Poland | 67% |
| 4 | Spain | 66% |
| 5= | Denmark | 63% |
| 5= | Germany | 63% |
| 6 | Belgium | 59% |
| 7 | UK | 57% |
| 8 | France | 55% |
| Europe | 63% |
Table 2: The percentage of consumers who believe bitcoin will exist as an investment and security tool in 10-years’ time:
| 1 | Poland | 11% |
| 2= | Italy | 9% |
| 2= | Belgium | 9% |
| 3 | Germany | 8% |
| 4 | Netherlands | 7% |
| 5= | Norway | 6% |
| 5= | Denmark | 6% |
| 5= | Spain | 6% |
| 5= | France | 6% |
| 6 | UK | 4% |
| Europe | 7% |
Table 3: The percentage of consumers who believe bitcoin will indeed exist in 10-years’ time:
| 1 | Italy | 55% |
| 2 | Poland | 53% |
| 3= | Spain | 51% |
| 3= | Netherlands | 51% |
| 4= | Norway | 50% |
| 4= | Germany | 50% |
| 5 | Denmark | 49% |
| 6 | Belgium | 45% |
| 7 | UK | 43% |
| 8 | France | 40% |
| Europe | 49% |
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