If nothing else, the market for Bitcoin and, presumably, other cryptocurrencies, is far from exhausted.
A recent Wells Fargo/Gallup poll of United States investors with more than $10,000 in holdings found that only 2% of those individuals own Bitcoin. A more refreshing stat is that 26% are intrigued by it.
The survey also finds that 72% of those investors “have no interest in ever buying Bitcoin.”
It was found that 96% of those surveyed heard of Bitcoin meaning the word is out about it. 3 in 10 people claim to know something about digital currencies while 2/3 admitted to knowing little about them.
A study back in February revealed that 8% of the investing public had bought Bitcoin so the new survey shows an increase in the number of people involved.
The volatility of Bitcoin caught the intention of investors. Since the beginning of the year, the price of this asset dropped 75% before recovering recently. Even at the present $8,100, it is still far off the high of almost $20,000.
This was also reflected in the survey with 75% saying that Bitcoin is risky with another 23% claiming it is "somewhat risky".
Bitcoin, along with the entire cryptocurrency space, faces a lot of headwind. The media has not been kind to this class since it peaked at the beginning of the year. Adding to the woes is that regulators are extremely slow to embrace it. This was again shown last week when a petition for a Bitcoin-based ETF was turned down by the SEC.
While Bitcoin is striving for legitimacy, at least with the retail investor and regulators, there is an undercurrent among big Wall Street firms that might be going counter to this. Many of the large banks and brokerage houses have either p;ans or discussed establishing cryptocurrency trading desks. This reveals that, at least from this perspective, the view on Bitcoin and the alt-coins is a bit different.
Having a Goldman or JPMorgan come out in support of Bitcoin would most likely add to the legitimacy as a viable asset to own. This will not happen anytime soon as long as the regulators hold the position they do.
Will the Wall Steet powerhouses be able to sway Washington?
Until then, cryptocurrency will continue to have acceptance rates as spelled out in this survey.