Survey Reveals Majority of Americans Lack Confidence in Safety and Reliability of Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency has been making headlines for years, and while some investors have seen significant gains, the majority of Americans are still skeptical about its safety and reliability.

According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in March 2023, 75% of Americans who have heard of cryptocurrency are not confident that current ways to invest in, trade or use cryptocurrencies are reliable and safe.

The survey found that among those who have heard of cryptocurrency, 39% are not at all confident in its safety and reliability, and an additional 36% are not very confident. Only 2% of respondents are extremely confident, while 4% are very confident, and 18% are somewhat confident.

It’s worth noting that some groups of Americans are more skeptical of cryptocurrency than others. For example, adults aged 50 and older who have heard of cryptocurrency are more likely than their younger counterparts to say they are not confident in its reliability and safety. Additionally, women are slightly more skeptical than men, with 80% of women saying they are not confident in cryptocurrency, compared with 71% of men.

Furthermore, attitudes towards cryptocurrency differ based on whether someone has invested in it or not. One-in-five cryptocurrency users say they are extremely or very confident that it is safe and reliable, but that share drops to 2% among those who are familiar with cryptocurrency but have not invested. Interestingly, 43% of cryptocurrency users also have concerns about its security, saying they are not very or not at all confident in it.

When it comes to who uses cryptocurrency in the US, the survey found that 17% of US adults say they have ever invested in, traded or used a cryptocurrency. This share is mostly unchanged from previous Center surveys conducted in 2021 and 2022. Younger men are more likely to use cryptocurrency compared with men aged 50 and older and women of any age. For example, 41% of men aged 18 to 29 say they have ever invested in, traded or used cryptocurrency, compared with 16% of women in the same age range.

Cryptocurrency use also differs by race, ethnicity and income level. Some 24% of Asian adults and 21% of Black or Hispanic adults say they have ever invested in or used a cryptocurrency, compared with 14% of White adults. Additionally, adults with upper or middle incomes are more likely to have invested in cryptocurrency than those with lower incomes.

Finally, the survey found that few cryptocurrency users first used it within the past year. Roughly three-quarters of those who have ever invested in, traded or used cryptocurrency (74%) say they did so for the first time one to five years ago. Black users (27%) are more likely than White users (12%) to say they first used cryptocurrency within the past year, and lower-income households are more likely to have first invested in cryptocurrency within the past year than middle- or upper-income households.

Overall, the survey shows that while a significant minority of Americans have invested in, traded or used cryptocurrency, the vast majority are still skeptical about its safety and reliability. This could be due to the many challenges cryptocurrency has faced, including declines in value, multiple corporate bankruptcies, lawsuits, and regulatory threats. As cryptocurrency continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see whether attitudes towards it change and whether more Americans become confident in its safety and reliability.