A recent survey in Great Britain would tell you how much the cryptocurrency is feared and distrusted. The poll was conducted by a polling company - D-CYFOR. While 93 percent of the Britains were aware of Bitcoin, a majority of 60 percent were against purchasing it or any another cryptocurrency as a means of exchange of value or linking it to the British Pound. They were not adventurous enough to accept Bank of England being associated with cryptocurrencies. One–third of those polled were willing and more likely to invest if any regulations existed around cryptocurrency investing, but 56 percent were still not be very keen on investing in them.
The survey was carried out in January 2018 to track cryptocurrency sentiments, in which 1015 individuals had participated via an online survey.
Predictions of Falling Prices
61% of Britons felt the price of Bitcoin would tank while only 39% felt bullish about it. The snapshot of the survey opinions is as follows –
93 percent of the individuals taking the survey had heard of the bitcoin,
60 percent were not keen on supporting a Bank of England cryptocurrency
56 percent were sure that they would never invest even with U.K government regulations
61 percent were of the opinion that bitcoin prices will tank over the next few months
The opinion was reiterated by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney who declared that “bitcoin” had failed as a currency though blockchain was going to be a useful technology for the future. At London’s Regent University in February 2018, he declared that –
“It has pretty much failed thus far on the traditional aspects of money. It is not a store of value because it is all over the map. Nobody uses it as a medium of exchange”.
After such strong opinions, it's not surprising that Britons felt this way.
American Survey Opinions
Interestingly, a similar survey conducted by SurveyMonkey and Global Blockchain Business Council in the U.S showed that 60 percent of Americans surveyed had heard of Bitcoins, though only five percent surveyed owned one and 21 percent said they were contemplating making an addition of bitcoin to their portfolio.
Americans showed keen optimism with 69 percent giving a thumbs- up, to an expected increase in Bitcoin prices over the next five years, and only 13 percent expected it to fall. Less than half of the people saw a crash coming anytime soon.
A Divided World
This divide of opinions and trust is prevalent among all people including CEO and billionaires, each with their own take on cryptocurrencies.
While Microsoft founder, Bill Gates is completely averse to investing, Yahoo co -founder Jerry Yang is a believer in the future power of digital currency but feels the currency is yet to reach a critical mass. The very famous investor and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett calls it an ideal bubble that one would read about.
Tim Draper, American venture capitalist and a prominent Bitcoin follower, investor has been a very accurate price predictor at various points.
Thus, these currencies have their share of detractors and hardcore followers and since the currency does not carry an actual, intrinsic value, not many in the UK believe in Bitcoins.