While for many cryptocurrency may still seem like a distant, minor tech fad doomed to crash and burn, like Netscape, AOL, or any of those early search engines that tried to compete with Google (looking at you, Lycos), the fact is, the tech continues to grow in understanding and popularity around the world.
Even now, some countries have begun to adopt Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies as official national currency (though others have outright banned it).
CivicScience data show the percentage of the Gen Pop that has invested in cryptocurrencies since last year continues to climb at a consistent rate.
Needless to say, at least for the time being, cryptocurrency is here to stay. But while the fintech is becoming increasingly adopted and accepted around much of the world, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with its own issues.
Namely, as with anything that involves finances and the internet, security has become a huge concern.
Among those who do buy and / or sell cryptocurrency, almost half (45%) are “very concerned” about keeping their privacy and financial information secure during the transactions.
And while it’s unsurprising that those who never read technology blogs or websites are generally concerned about safety when dealing in crypto (they likely know less about it, and therefore are a little more concerned about it), it is surprising that they’re not as concerned as those who read the same websites daily.
Further emphasizing this fact, is data showing that those that follow trends in tech the closest are the most concerned as well.
In other words, the more people know about crypto, the more aware and concerned they become of its technical limitations in terms of security.
And this trend is just as prevalent among other crypto concerns as well. For instance, the more closely people follow trends in tech, the more they are concerned about crypto’s effect on the environment.
And the same goes for the potential artificial inflation or deflation of crypto value.
Interestingly, these trends all come from the same population that self-reports having high trust in banks and financial institutions’ abilities to protect financial information.
This may demonstrate that cryptocurrency might have a ceiling when it comes to who will trust the industry’s ability to safeguard confidential information. After all, if people are moving to crypto because of a distrust in established financial institutions, but are then finding limits on trust from crypto, where does that leave them?
And as it turns out, among those who are invested or interested in investing in crypto, nearly half demonstrate concerns about financial safety.
Interestingly this hesitancy is prominent among the oldest of the Gen Pop and those making mid-to-high salaries (though not the highest or lowest) – otherwise known as those being more or less left behind by the crypto craze.
As governments and other large financial institutions continue to embrace cryptocurrencies and digital currencies, it will be interesting to see if concerns about security will abate among these segments of the population.
As for now, crypto will remain an asset for those with just a little more risk-tolerance than most.
