Which bear market? Consumer confidence higher among crypto owners than norms

by · July 7, 2022

Consumer confidence is significantly higher among crypto owners than the average American adult, with crypto owners sitting 16.4 points higher on the consumer sentiment index.

A July 7 report by the analysis firm Morning Consult shows that although average US (US) adult consumer sentiment has fallen 13.5% since mid-January, confidence among crypto owners has remained relatively better, falling only 8.1% in the same period .

The research firm said the discrepancy is partly explained by the fact that the average crypto owner is “more likely to be richer, younger and male” than an average American adult.

“In recent months, age has been one of the biggest drivers of differences in consumer confidence, as steady incomes, health risks and memories of past high-inflation episodes in the United States make older Americans more pessimistic,” it said.

The report says that millennial men who earn at least $ 100,000 a year are the most likely people to own crypto, although Gen Z adults also show quite high levels of crypto ownership. Baby boomers and women are still the least likely to hodl.

The report cites respondents’ high price expectations for Bitcoin (BTC) as a driving factor for their optimism, noting that the average cryptocurrency user expects the price to jump back to $ 38,000 over the next six months.

This is despite the fact that some experts believe that Bitcoin will remain sideways in the foreseeable future and may go as low as $ 16,000.

Price recovery is probably important for the average crypto holder because the majority of crypto owners – 66% primarily see cryptocurrency as a means of making money as opposed to using it to send or as a means of payment, according to the report.

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Bitcoin was the most popular crypto owned by Americans, with 75% of American crypto owners owning the cryptocurrency, according to the report. It is worth noting that stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) and the original symbol of the Solana blockchain (SOL) saw a 4% increase in ownership each since January.

The report also notes that a growing proportion of Americans favor heavier cryptocurrency regulations. The proportion of Americans who believe the market should be regulated more strictly increased from 17% in January to 21% in June.

The report attributes the increased demand for regulations to the “current environment of increased volatility” stemming from the collapse of the Terra ecosystem and Janet Yellen addressing the risks associated with that event.

The report, entitled ‘The Crypto Report: Our Analysts on the State of Cryptocurrency’, takes the data from three surveys. Two of the surveys were conducted on 2,200 to 4,400 and 6,000 American adults, respectively. The third was conducted monthly in 15 to 17 different countries and again from 1 to 7 June 2022 on 1000 adults per country.