Indians and Americans have been ranked the same, at the 10th place, for owning cryptocurrency, revealed a new survey that was conducted on almost 30,000 individuals from 20 different countries.
According to the survey report, venture capital investment in crypto and blockchain firms has surpassed $30 billion, with more than $10.5 billion invested in the last quarter of 2021. The market value of cryptocurrencies has nearly reached $3 trillion, with bitcoin reaching an all-time high of over $65,000, making crypto the best-performing asset class in the last 10 years.
The report is based on the surveys conducted on 29,293 adults from 20 countries, including the US, Brazil, Mexico, Denmark, France, Germany, UK, UAE, Kenya, South Africa, Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and India, between November 23, 2021 and February 4, 2022. The surveys were conducted by crypto exchange company Gemini, and reported as Global State of Crypto for 2022, based on the data collected by the Data-Driven Consulting Group.
“Our survey explored awareness of cryptocurrencies and exchanges, motivations for owning and trading cryptocurrency, general attitudes toward cryptocurrency, and barriers to owning cryptocurrency,” the report noted.
Proponents of cryptocurrency have long contended that the blockchain technology would benefit countries with weak financial institutions the most. While adoption has been modest outside of the industrialised world, fresh data from Gemini suggests that may be changing.
The report noted that 41% of crypto owners, polled around the world, purchased cryptocurrency for the first time in 2021.
It further said more than half of cryptocurrency owners in Brazil (51%) Hong Kong (51%), and India (54%) started out in 2021.
Globally, 41% of respondents said they are interested in cryptography. Consumers who are crypto-curious are those who do not presently possess cryptocurrencies but are interested in learning more or believe they are likely to buy cryptocurrency in the coming year.
It was also found that 47% women plan to buy crypto for the first time in the coming year.
“In developed countries and regions, only a third of current crypto owners are women, including in the US (32%), Europe (33%), and Australia (27%),” it added.
The report highlighted that respondents in countries that have seen a 50% or greater depreciation of their currency against the USD in the last 10 years were 5 times more likely to say they plan to buy crypto in the coming year than those in countries, which have seen less than a 50% depreciation.
This includes South Africa (32%), Mexico (32%), India (40%), and Brazil (45%).
In the case of India, when people were asked when did they first acquired cryptocurrency, 46% said more than a year ago while 54% said it was “within the past year”.
In the report, the graph for the percentage of crypto-curious and gender breakdown showed that in India 47% are men and 53% are women.
In the case of cryptocurrency ownership by a country, India and the US both stand in 10th position with 20% each, while Brazil and Indonesia both showcase 41% each, which is the highest among all.
In terms of the percentage of cryptocurrency investors based on gender, in India, it is 62% for men and 38% for women.
Additionally, it was found that women are investing in cryptocurrency in greater numbers in the Asia Pacific, with women accounting for 2 out of every 5 cryptocurrency owners in Singapore (40%) and India (38%).
The report also noted: “Nearly two in three crypto investors in India (64%) and Indonesia (64%) believe that cryptocurrencies are a hedge against inflation. Even with its stable fiat currency, more than two in five crypto investors in Singapore (42%) turn to crypto for its inflation-hedging properties.”
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