Morning Consult

Americans ‘frustrated’ by financial system inequality, 20% own crypto: Survey

Crypto ownership among U.S. adults has remained steady over the last 12 months, with a large portion seemingly “frustrated” by the one-sided global financial system.

A whopping 80% of American adults believe the financial system favors those with “powerful interests,” while 20% currently own cryptocurrency, a new survey has revealed.

Commissioned by crypto exchange Coinbase, the February online survey of more than 2,000 American adults found that 80% of respondents said the “global financial system unfairly favors powerful interests,” while 67% have called for “major changes” or a “complete overhaul” of the financial system.

A large portion of respondents are disillusioned with the Global Financial System and want change. Source: Morning Consult 

The survey conducted by business intelligence firm Morning Consult was aimed at examining the perception of the global financial system and how United States adults and crypto investors viewed the future of the crypto market and exchanges. 

It found that despite the recent FUD and bad news coming out of the crypto space, 20% of respondents said they still own crypto, and nearly a third plan to buy, sell or trade crypto in the next year.

Morning Consult noted that the numbers have remained consistent each quarter since January 2022, drifting between 17% and 20% over the last 12 months, meaning that recent market turmoil may not have shaken retail investor confidence in crypto in America.

“There is reason to be optimistic about crypto’s future. Universally, Americans are frustrated by the inequality in the financial system and are hungry for change,” wrote Morning Consult, adding:

“Crypto investors and younger cohorts of Americans still believe that crypto is a worthwhile investment in the future that can lead to societal benefits.”

Crypto enthusiasm among younger adults also remains high. The survey found that 36% of Gen Z (born between 1997 to 2013) and 30% of Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) currently own crypto.

 Younger generations remain optimistic about the future of crypto. Source: Morning Consult 

Minority groups were also found to be more likely to hold a favorable view of crypto and be optimistic about the future of the asset. 

“Black and Hispanic adults are significantly more likely than white adults to have a favorable impression of cryptocurrency and are more optimistic that ‘Cryptocurrency and blockchain are the future’ than any other cohort.”

Current crypto investors also remain optimistic about the future, with 65% agreeing that the market’s best days are still ahead, while 76% of crypto investors still believe crypto and blockchain are the future.

Related: New research indicates boomers make better crypto investors than millennials or zoomers

Some market commentators believe the next bull run will kick off when China adopts a more favorable view of crypto. However, the survey found that more Americans would be interested in entering the market if exchanges were more trusted and secure.

Among the general population, 67% flagged secure and reliable exchanges as important. In comparison, 91% of crypto investors said a trusted, secure platform is vital to the crypto market.

Many respondents flagged secure, and reliable crypto exchanges as important. Source: Morning Consult

“How Americans view the reliability of exchanges largely informs their aspirations of cryptocurrency ownership: if Americans feel exchanges are secure, then they are more likely to invest in crypto in the future,” wrote Morning Consult.

Morning Consult conducted the survey between Feb. 10 and Feb. 14, questioning a national sample of 2,202 American adults as well as an oversample of 500 U.S. cryptocurrency investors.

What bear market? Consumer confidence higher among crypto owners than normies

The research firm said that the discrepancy is partially explained by the fact that the average crypto owner is “more likely to be wealthier, younger and male” than the average U.S. adult.

Consumer confidence is considerably higher among crypto owners than the average American adult, with crypto owners sitting 16.4 points higher on the consumer sentiment index. 

A Thursday report from research firm Morning Consult shows that although average United States adult consumer sentiment has dropped 13.5% since mid-January, confidence among crypto owners has held up relatively better, falling only 8.1% over the same period.

The research firm said that the discrepancy is partially explained by the fact that the average crypto owner is “more likely to be wealthier, younger and male” than the average U.S. adult. 

“In recent months, age has been one of the biggest drivers of differences in consumer confidence, as fixed incomes, health risks and memories of past episodes of high inflation in the United States lead older Americans to be more pessimistic,” it said.

The report states that Millennial men who earn at least $100,000 per year are the most likely people to own crypto, though Gen Z adults also show fairly high levels of crypto ownership. Baby boomers and women remain the least likely to hodl.

The report cites respondents’ lofty price expectations for Bitcoin (BTC) as a driving factor for their optimism, noting that the average crypto user expects the price to bounce back to $38,000 within the next six months.

This is despite some experts believing Bitcoin will remain sideways for the foreseeable future and could go as low as $16,000.

Price recovery is likely important for the average crypto holder because the majority of crypto owners — 66% primarily see cryptocurrency as a means to make money as opposed to using it to send or as a means of payment, according to the report.

Related: Bitcoin vs bank: Nayib Bukele reminds Peter Schiff why banks can’t trump BTC

Bitcoin was the most popular crypto owned by Americans, with 75% of U.S. crypto owners in possession of the cryptocurrency, according to the report. It is worth noting that stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) and the native token of the Solana blockchain, Solana (SOL), saw 4% increases in ownership each since January.

The report has also noted a rising share of Americans favoring heavier regulations on the cryptocurrency space. The portion of Americans that believe the market should be more strictly regulated increased from 17% in January to 21% in June. 

 The report attributes the increased call for regulations to the “current environment of heightened volatility” stemming from the collapse of the Terra ecosystem and Janet Yellen addressing the risks associated with that event.

The report, titled “The Crypto Report: Our Analysts on the State of Cryptocurrency” draws the data from three surveys. Two of the surveys were conducted on 2,200 to 4,400 and 6,000 U.S. adults respectively. The third was conducted monthly in 15 to 17 different countries and again from June 1-7, 2022 on 1,000 adults per country.