More Than Half of US Investors Interested in Bitcoin, Grayscale Survey Finds

A survey from Grayscale Investments suggests interest in bitcoin is on the rise, with the coronavirus being a driver of new investors.

By Sebastian Sinclair

Oct 27, 2020 at 1:06 p.m. UTC

Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 10:24 a.m. UTC

sonnenshein, grayscale — Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein

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Alex Thorn

Head of Firmwide Research

Galaxy

Hear Alex Thorn share his take on "Bitcoin and Inflation: It’s Complicated” at Consensus 2023.

Secure Your Seat

Sebastian Sinclair

Alex Thorn

Head of Firmwide Research

Galaxy

Hear Alex Thorn share his take on "Bitcoin and Inflation: It’s Complicated” at Consensus 2023.

Secure Your Seat

Alex Thorn

Head of Firmwide Research

Galaxy

Hear Alex Thorn share his take on "Bitcoin and Inflation: It’s Complicated” at Consensus 2023.

Secure Your Seat

A survey conducted by digital asset manager Grayscale Investments suggests investor interest in bitcoin is on the rise and the top cryptocurrency by market cap is well on its way toward mainstream adoption.

Released Tuesday, Grayscale's "Bitcoin Investor Study" revealed more than half (55%) of U.S. investors who responded are interested in buying bitcoin (BTC) in 2020.
Compared to the previous year, the results mark a "significant increase," the company said, with a rise of 19 percentage points.
The data also showed the majority of bitcoin investors made allocations within the last 12 months, with 38% investing in the last four months, 26% five to six months prior, and 19% seven to 12 months ago.
The strongest stated driver for bitcoin investments was the coronavirus pandemic, which spurred 63% of respondents into investing, the research showed.

CoinDesk - Unknown — Bitcoin Investor Study

The total number of bitcoin investors in the U.S. also rose to 32 million, up 11 million from the previous year's 21 million.
Almost half of respondents said they believe digital currencies would become mainstream by the end of the decade.
Among other interesting finding, the survey indicated if you'd gone to college or university and got a degree you were more likely to invest; the demographic was split, with twice as many males as females.
Investors were drawn to bitcoin for its low cost to entry and potential as a growth asset, cited as a motivating factor by 59% (up from 51% in 2019).

The study was not without its negative insights, however, finding that, of people aged 55-64, only 40% were familiar with bitcoin and just 30% would consider investing.
Common concerns among survey respondents who were not interested in investing in bitcoin tended to reflect the views of older investors generally, the study showed.
Among the older age bracket, 81% thought bitcoin was too volatile, while 84% said it was too risky for their investment appetite and profile.
Grayscale is owned by CoinDesk's parent firm, Digital Currency Group.

See the study in full below:

UPDATE (Oct. 30, 21:53 UTC): A passage in an earlier version of this article understated the increase from the previous year's survey. The proportion of investors interested in bitcoin grew 19 percentage points, or 53% – not 19%.

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