New research commissioned by global cryptocurrency company Luno has revealed 47 percent of European countries are still skeptical about the profitability and safety of cryptocurrencies, whereas 79 percent of those in emerging markets outside of Europe are more optimistic about the profitability of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Cryptocurrencies are attracting interest from investors outside of Europe, with 82 percent of people in emerging markets purchasing crypto solely to invest. This is compared to only 58 percent of Europeans who have invested in cryptocurrencies to boost their bank balance, and 29 percent use cryptocurrencies solely to shop online. However, cryptocurrencies are fulfilling their mission to become the future of payments, with 29 percent of emerging markets and 21 percent of Europeans having already received cryptocurrencies as a form of payment.
However, Europeans are showing less confidence in the safety of cryptocurrencies compared to emerging markets. In the long term, only one-third believe cryptocurrencies are a safe investment compared to 69 percent of those in emerging markets. Although confidence is low in European markets, 84 percent of consumers who don’t own cryptocurrencies are interested in owning crypto in the near future.
Europeans and emerging markets are in agreement over what could influence their opinion on cryptocurrencies, with 37 percent of Europeans and 44 percent of emerging markets agreeing that an increase in price stability would have a positive impact on their view of cryptocurrencies. Along with this, 43 percent of Europeans and 48 percent of emerging markets would like to see less risk of losing money, and under one-third would change their opinion of crypto if Governments took a positive outlook on the cryptosphere.
The complicity of cryptocurrencies is also a stumbling block for consumers with 48 percent of Europeans and 49 percent from emerging markets stating using crypto is complicated. Luno is looking to decrease these numbers and help educate consumers on the importance of future crypto use within the financial landscape through a series of exclusive lectures in more than 15 universities across Italy. They have also launched an online help centre, whilst also running monthly educational talks in Amsterdam called Bitcoin Wednesdays.
“It’s really interesting to see that even in times of uncertainty in the crypto market, consumers that don’t own any cryptocurrency are looking to get involved in the crypto space,” Luno European GM Christian Zeiler said. “I still think there is a long way to go to get these consumers to buy cryptocurrency but we are leading the way in educating the general public in the benefits of cryptocurrencies and through our educational programs and talks we hope that we can show the consumers that think cryptocurrencies are complicated that this is not the case and get them more involved in this evolving technology.”
