Over two thirds of Europeans believe cryptocurrency is here to stay – but they have no idea what it will be used for

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● Study of 10,000 people across 10 European countries reveals 63% believe cryptocurrencies will still exist in ten years’ time
● Norway the most confident, with 73% believing in the longevity of crypto, while France is the least confident at 55%
● However, when asked about what cryptocurrencies will be used for, only 8% think they will be a form of currency and only 7% think it will be used as an investment or security

Luxembourg, 24 April 2019 – 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 volumes[1], 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.

Almost 1 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%

Methodology

Surveys were conducted via Google Surveys, with the following question and response options posed to a pool of 1,000 people in each of the 10 countries, including: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, UK.

Do you think bitcoin will still exist in 10 years’ time?

● Yes, in mainstream use as a currency
● Yes, but as an investment or security
● Yes, but it will only have niche uses
● Yes, but no idea how
● No, but other forms of crypto will exist
● No, something new will take its place
● No, all cryptocurrency will not exist

The same question and answer options were used for each country, all translated into the dominant language for each country, with the exception of Belgium, where the question and answers were posed in French. Response options were displayed in random order. The full database of survey results is available upon request.

About bitFlyer EUROPE S.A.

bitFlyer EUROPE S.A. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of bitFlyer, Inc., a leading bitcoin and blockchain company based in Japan. The European office is located in Luxembourg and operates an exchange platform for European traders to buy and sell bitcoin. bitFlyer EUROPE S.A. corporate site: www.bitflyer.com/en-eu/

About bitFlyer, Inc.

bitFlyer, Inc. is the largest bitcoin and blockchain company in Japan. bitFlyer aims to revolutionize the FinTech sector using blockchain technology. Its work includes operation of the bitFlyer integrated virtual currency platform, in-depth blockchain research, and the R&D of its original blockchain miyabi. bitFlyer, Inc., corporate site: www.bitflyer.com