The following is a direct excerpt from Marty’s Bent Issue #1218: “Bitcoin awareness is very high. Better education is needed.” Sign up for the newsletter here.
Here’s a great research report compiled by Block Inc. and Wakefield Research that summarizes the results of a survey of 9,500 people over the age of 18 divided into three groups:
- America (2,375)
- Europe, Middle East and Africa (4,360)
- Asia Pacific (2,860)
The results are extremely revealing. Those with higher incomes view bitcoin as an investment vehicle. Those with less money see bitcoin as a utility that offers a payment network that allows them to move money much more efficiently and resiliently. Women in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific have a better understanding of Bitcoin than women in America. People living in countries that have experienced bouts of hyperinflation and armed payment networks are significantly more optimistic about the future of Bitcoin than people living in countries with relatively stable monetary and payment systems.
Another very important lesson this research report highlights is that the main reason people hesitate to adopt Bitcoin is that they don’t understand how it works.
Almost every bubble in the chart above is a low-hanging fruit that can be addressed over time. Getting quality, easy-to-digest information about how bitcoin works and why it matters is the most important thing bitcoins can do to drive adoption. Currently, Bitcoin discussion is limited to Twitter, YouTube, technical mailing lists/forums and GitHub. Like it or not, one thing bitcoiners can do to try and bridge the information gap is to meet the audience they live in these days, which includes platforms like TikTok and Instagram. At TFTC, we’ve put more effort into bridging this gap by posting more on Instagram (follow us). On these platforms, bitcoiners can start educating people that bitcoin is not too expensive — you can buy as little as $1, directing people to the software that allows them to exchange bitcoin for goods or services obtain, or buy them directly, highlight the inherent utility, a scarce digital asset running on a distributed peer-to-peer network, offers individuals and, among other things, the importance of low time preferences.
As we said yesterday, the fact that Bitcoin has catapulted itself to become the ninth largest base currency in the world in 13 years is extremely impressive. That being said, there is still much more work to be done to make more people aware of the importance and beauty of Bitcoin as we continue our transition into the digital age.
Many thanks to Block Inc. for compiling this research and sharing it with the public. It has provided bitcoiners with a progress report, allowing us to sharpen our focus and fill in the information gaps that are out there.
Continue!