Adoption rising: 20% of people in 22 countries around the world own Bitcoin

A new study by Cybersecurity company, Kaspersky, has revealed that as much as 20% of people worldwide own Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, relaying a little more about the progress of mass adoption….

There are two sure unchanging facts within the crypto industry, 1: the markets are fickle and 2: Bitcoin is scarce. The latter, however, is not often picked up upon by many, with mainstream media outlets and the average joe alike choosing to focus on the former - particularly as a reason not to hold cryptocurrencies.

However, this may be changing as more and more people around the world are apparently opting to purchase cryptocurrencies.

THE BULLISH SIDE

This is according to Kaspersky who recently conducted a survey which asked 13,434 people in 22 countries around the world whether or not they have ever purchased cryptocurrencies.

The result showed that 19% of respondents have owned cryptocurrency at some stage, a fairly impressive number given the nascency and mainstream misconceptions of the industry. Obviously, the flipside of this means that 81% of respondents haven’t purchased cryptocurrencies, revealing that the sector is still quite in its infancy.

However, 14% of those who do not own cryptocurrencies relayed that they would like to in the future. This is perhaps relayed to the fact that only 10% of respondents actually claim to know how cryptocurrencies work.

THE BEARISH SIDE

In less bullish revelations, 35%, believed that cryptocurrencies were a “fad,” and 19% of those who had used cryptocurrencies stating that they had experienced hacks on exchanges, with a further 15% adding that they had been the victim of cryptocurrency fraud.

Kaspersky’s take away from the study looked at the glass half full, suggesting that trust must be instilled into the cryptocurrency industry for mainstream adoption to continue:

“Building consumer trust and loyalty is a challenge for any business proposition… Establishing trust takes time and needs the product or service to work efficiently. Unfortunately for cryptocurrencies and the businesses that count on them, our study has discovered that the majority of modern consumers are still not ready to rely on them on a daily basis.

Yet, there is still hope on the horizon. Almost every sixth (14%) of those surveyed did say they are not using cryptocurrency at the moment but would like to in the future. There seems little doubt that as exchanges become certified, consumers will be prepared to take the leap and invest their money accordingly.”