The results of a new study by Statistica showed that Bitcoin is still fairly exotic in the U.S. trader’s portfolio.
Joseph Young at Cointelegraph reports only 7% of Americans hold BTC, according to the study.
Calling this an “early time” for BTC, Young points out that the adoption rate in the U.S. is low compared to numbers like 32% in Nigeria and 21% in Vietnam.
Young also posits that the average person seeing Bitcoin as “gold 2.0” will likely propel the crypto currency to greater ubiquity and bolster its presence as a commodity, or more accurately, an asset that can not only be spent, but also speculated on. We’ve seen the debate rage back and forth as analysts assess the utility of Bitcoin as a “safe haven” for traders fleeing equities, and whether BTC tracks more with equities or with gold at any given time.
In terms of getting the average person excited about holding Bitcoin, building crypto on-ramps is fundamentally important, as we have pointed out in prior coverage. Young hints at the power of a Bitcoin ETF, and traders are avidly following the words of individuals like “crypto mom” Hester Peirce, while many buy and holders have become frustrated with the SEC’s slow walk of any exchange traded fund leveraging bitcoin value.
“Without exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and major bank custodians, users still have to undergo a relatively complex process of using exchanges,” Young writes. “Some exchanges require a thorough Know Your Customer or KYC verification process before users can initiate wire transfers to buy Bitcoin.”
“A US-approved Bitcoin ETF would be a wondrous thing, say many in the cryptocurrency industry,” adds Adriana Hamacher at Decrypt, pondering what it will take for U.S. agencies to sign off. “Were it to happen, confidence in the world’s premier cryptocurrency would skyrocket; institutional and retail investors would swarm in, and Bitcoin’s price would shoot to the moon and beyond—or so the theory goes.”
In the end, many traders are hanging on for the long haul, believing that in some future year, Bitcoin adoption will explode and the value of the coin will correspondingly soar.
