After a series of severe crashes and the regulatory heat that followed, cryptocurrencies hit a significant roadblock. However, a new survey by Paxos, a New York-based blockchain technology company, revealed that 75% of users still believe in the wake of cryptos.
Accordingly, up to 72% of respondents to Paxos survey claimed that they have little or no concern about the volatility the crypto markets experienced over the last year.
User confidence in intermediaries like exchanges, mobile payment apps, and banks for holding crypto remains as high as 89%. Paxos said in a press release that the recent crashes may not have affected user confidence in crypto companies.
“Despite fears that the rocky end to 2022 would have a chilling effect on consumer crypto adoption, this research shows that consumers are looking for more integration of crypto into their financial lives, not less,” says Mike Coscetta, Head of Revenue at Paxos. “Consumers are increasingly viewing crypto as a primary staple of their financial lives, and traditional businesses and financial institutions that deliver the experiences consumers are looking for in 2023 could carve out a formidable position in the market for years to come.”
Furthermore, the survey shows a significant need for a larger role of digital currency in daily financial life. The top three desired use cases mentioned by survey participants were paying for goods and services (42 percent); credit cards or loyalty card programs (38 percent); and sending money to friends and family (34 percent). Other top use cases included long-term investing (52 percent) and day trading (36 percent).
The Paxos survey was conducted online in partnership with research firm Pollfish, among 5,000 US residents with household incomes over $50,000. These respondents were 18 years and above and had purchased a cryptocurrency at least once in the last three years. The survey was conducted between January 5 and 6, 2023.
A message to banks
The Paxos survey also provides some useful suggestions for banks and traditional financial institutions. They can “deliver a better experience to their customers by leveraging crypto to diversify their product offerings”.
More than 75% of respondents said they want to buy crypto from their main primary banks. As many as 81% of respondents in the age group of 35-55+ favored their primary banks for purchasing the asset class, compared to 63% of respondents in the age group of 18-34.
Coscetta affirmed:
“Consumers are increasingly viewing crypto as a primary staple of their financial lives, and traditional businesses and financial institutions that deliver the experiences consumers are looking for in 2023 could carve out a formidable position in the market for years to come.”
Cryptocurrency adoption is still on the rise
While the protracted bear market has kept prices low, some investors and institutions see this as the right time to buy more. For example, Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm DWS Group was in talks early last month to buy a minority stake in two crypto companies.
In February, amid the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s crackdown on Kraken, Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse pointed out that crypto adoption is still on the rise worldwide.