Recent public surveys in Korea, Japan, and the
US reveal different levels of bitcoin awareness
and adoption in the three top bitcoin markets.
The country with the strongest awareness has
the fewest bitcoin exchanges and least volume
of the three.
Also read: Japan Increases Lead – Approves
Another Four New Cryptocurrency Exchanges
90% Know of Bitcoin
Mobile phone survey specialist Dooit released
the results of its “Perception and Prospects for
Bitcoin” survey taken in South Korea this week,
local publications reported. The survey was
conducted between December 1 and 4, with 3018
participants aged 20 or older. The sampling error
range was ± 1.78% percentage points, giving it a
95% confidence level, according to the company.
Regarding respondents’ familiarity with bitcoin,
44.1% of those surveyed said, “I have heard the
name.” 35.1% said “I know [it]” and 10.8%
answered, “I know [it] well.” Meanwhile, 10%
replied, “I do not know [it] at all.” Altogether, the
number of respondents who have heard of
bitcoin amounts to 90% .
In terms of demographics, bitcoin is most
popular among respondents in their 30s. 29.8%
of this age group admitted to having purchased
the digital currency. By comparison, 26.3% in
their 40s, 22.4% in their 20s, and 23% in their
50s claim to have experience in purchasing
bitcoin.
South Korea is one of the largest cryptocurrency
markets. The Korean won is currently the third
most traded currency for bitcoin, behind only
Japan and the U.S. The country’s largest bitcoin
exchange Bithumb currently has the highest
bitcoin trading volume out of all exchanges
worldwide.
Bitcoin trading volume in the country has fully
surpassed that of Kosdaq, the Korean version of
the Nasdaq stock exchange. This revelation has
prompted the regulators in the country to hurry
to regulate the crypto market. In addition, the
country’s most popular chat app, Kakao Talk, has
recently integrated a cryptocurrency exchange
called Upbit with over 110 cryptocurrencies.
Kakao Talk has over 200 million users and is
installed on over 95% of smartphones in South
Korea.
8% Know What a Blockchain Is
While most of the survey respondents know what
bitcoin is, few of them have heard of
blockchains. Only 8% claim to know both what a
blockchain is and understand its relationship with
bitcoin.
The majority of the respondents, 49.7% , admitted
that “I do not know what it means at all” when
asked about the term blockchain.
Some of them were able to make guesses
regarding the technology. 18.5% think that both
bitcoin and blockchains “are virtual currency”
while 6.7% believe that a blockchain is “the
product derived from bitcoin.” Lastly, 5.1%
wrongfully guessed that an exchange trading
bitcoin is a blockchain.
Reasons for Purchasing Bitcoin
Out of all respondents, 26.1% said that they have
purchased bitcoin. This percentage corresponds
to 787 people. Respondents who have not
purchased it shared various reasons on the
company’s website. “Bitcoin, it’s dangerous,”
wrote one participant. Another participant
shared:
It’s not dangerous, it’s just
expensive, so I do not buy it.
Among those who have purchased, 5.8% said
that they currently own bitcoin while 20.3% said
that they do not.
Also within this group of respondents, 48.3%
purchased bitcoin because they are simply
curious about digital currencies. A further 23.3%
said they purchased it for short-term profit while
15.6% indicated it was for long-term investment.
Meanwhile, 12.8% of them purchased bitcoin at
the recommendation of others.
Compared to Japan
Japan is currently the leader in the
cryptocurrency market, with the Japanese yen
occupying the largest bitcoin trading market
share. The country also made bitcoin a legal
method of payment for all goods and services
back in April. Since then, bitcoin adoption and
merchant adoption there have grown
significantly. Recently, news.Bitcoin.com
reported on a Japanese survey of 10,000
respondents. 88% of them know what bitcoin is
but only 4.7% have purchased it.
Among Japanese bitcoin purchasers, 42% said
they purchased because they were interested in
digital currencies; the same percentage expect it
to grow in the future. 33% bought bitcoin
because they believe it to be profitable. 54%
purchased it as a long-term investment and 42%
as a short-term investment. See full survey
results here.
Compared to the US
The U.S. dollar is currently the second largest
bitcoin market behind the Japanese yen. On
Monday, crypto PR firm Ditto published a
cryptocurrency public knowledge report. The firm
conducted a survey in the first week of
November with 500 respondents over 18 across
the U.S.
They found almost 70% of respondents are
unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies and almost 90%
do now know what an initial coin offering (ICO)
is. The most informed segment is the millennials
with 1 in 5 of them familiar with bitcoin.
