From a demographic standpoint, you’ll be unsurprised to hear that most Bitcoin investors are young and male — but beyond that, there’s plenty of diversity.
A new report has shed light on who tends to own Bitcoin (BTC) in the U.S.
The Nakamoto Project’s inaugural study reveals that investors tend to be of all political persuasions — and not just conservatives or libertarians.
This supports the idea that crypto ownership and regulation is a bipartisan issue, and greater collaboration is needed between both Democrats and Republicans to serve consumers.
American Bitcoiners can be found across the political spectrum — but they tend to be moderates.
The Nakamoto Project
From a demographic standpoint, you’ll be unsurprised to hear that most BTC investors are young and male — but beyond that, researchers concluded that there’s plenty of diversity when it comes to race, ethnicity, income, and education.
Thousands of adults nationwide were surveyed — and census data was used to ensure that the poll was as representative of the U.S. population as possible.
It was particularly interesting to note that Bitcoin owners were more likely to say that they were on the extremes of the political spectrum — whether that be very liberal or very conservative.
And although the likes of Donald Trump and JD Vance have been banging the drum about the need for pro-Bitcoin policies, the authors stressed that this isn’t a Republican-only matter.
Discourse among politicians, media elites, and users of social media that politicizes Bitcoin ownership is highly misleading. The distribution of Bitcoin-owning Americans across political categories looks very much like the political distribution of all Americans across those categories. Bitcoin ownership is apolitical.
The Nakamoto Project
When it comes to morals, Bitcoiners tend to value cultural liberty and equality more than non-owners who identify as liberal or conservative.
But as you might expect, there was a much bigger divergence when all of the Americans polled were asked to say whether they agreed with a flurry of Bitcoin-related statements.
BTC investors were far more likely to say they trust the underlying technology that powers the Bitcoin blockchain, believe in this digital asset’s potential as an everyday payment method, and argue that this technology is moral — not to mention the people who HODL it.
Learning about Bitcoin inspires trust in the protocol, which leads to belief in its utility and awareness of its potential for social good, which then motivates individuals to purchase or invest in Bitcoin. But it may instead be that individuals first buy Bitcoin as an investment, or to use for payments, after which they are motivated to learn more about it, which drives awareness of its utility, belief that it is good, and trust in the protocol.
The Nakamoto Project
The Bitcoin space has often faced claims that it’s pretty cultish — that it defines someone’s identity and means that they are politically skewed in a certain way.
But drawing conclusions from the survey, The Nakamoto Project concluded that this isn’t quite right: if anything, a Bitcoiner’s politics match their peers.
What correlates most strongly with Bitcoin ownership is not who you are, so to speak, but how much you know about Bitcoin, and whether you think it is useful, trustworthy, and good. The 14% of Americans who own Bitcoin, it turns out, are not members of some particular political tribe. Rather, they are simply Americans who have taken the time to study the technology and formed positive attitudes about it.
The Nakamoto Project
So… what do we draw from this? Perhaps it’s that those who are neutral or even negative about Bitcoin may need to dig deeper to fully understand what this cryptocurrency is all about — and to gain an insight into its values.
Education from crypto exchanges, investors and influencers — not to mention news sites like this one — are crucial for breaking down complicated concepts and communicating what Bitcoin stands for, beyond its reputation as an asset class that continually surges in value.
That may mean simplifying the language a little, being less combative against those who might have reservations about the world of cryptocurrency, and ensuring that trading platforms and wallets are as simple to use as their Web2 counterparts.
When it comes to these particular areas, crypto is still quite a way off delivering the same convenience as the likes of PayPal or Venmo. But inch by inch, and step by step, things are gradually improving — and there’s a lot to be bullish about.
