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Block, formally Square’s, recent Bitcoin report reveals that the stronger people believe their knowledge to be about cryptocurrencies, the more optimistic they are about Bitcoin’s future.
The research is drawn from Block’s partnership with Wakefield Research earlier this year to survey 9500 people across the Americas, EMEA and APAC to determine the knowledge and perceptions of Bitcoin in the geographies.
According to the research, 4 in ten Australians label their knowledge of cryptocurrencies as “fair to expert”, with 67.8 percent of them stating that they would be very likely to purchase Bitcoin in the next 12 months.
Almost half (44.6 percent) of this “fair to expert” group are optimistic about Bitcoin’s future.
The parallel between one’s perceived crypto expertise and one’s optimism for the future of Bitcoin is revealed on a state-by-state basis, where in New South Wales, residents claim the lowest rate of “fair to expert” knowledge (14.6 percent) and also have the fewest optimists (22.7 percent), while Western Australia holds the highest number of optimists (29.8 percent) and the highest rate of perceived expertise (22.1 percent).
The concerns raised by Australians who consider themselves to have a fair to expert knowledge of crypto but are sceptical about its future name price volatility and an uncertain regulatory outlook as key concerns.
Globally, Nigeria, India, Vietnam and Argentina are names as the countries with the highest rates of optimism about the future of Bitcoin.
According to the report, “Lack of bitcoin knowledge is the top reason people don’t buy, followed by concerns related to security, price volatility, and finally an uncertain regulatory landscape globally.”
Social capital in the crypto world is also a factor the authors reveal.
“The network effect is real. Globally, those who don’t own bitcoin but know someone who does are much more likely to say they plan on buying bitcoin in the next year.
The gender knowledge gap is also pronounced in Australia where expertise is citied from 63 percent of males and only 36 percent of females. However for those that own Bitcoin and also see themselves as experts, there is no gender divide the report says.
“47 percent of women see the prospect of buying goods and services as a good reason to buy bitcoin, compared with just 34 percent of men. Similarly, 47 percent of women see the prospect of using bitcoin to send money to others as a good reason to buy bitcoin, compared with 27 percent of men.”
