A survey by the digital association Bitkom still shows a high level of crypto skepticism in Germany. You can find out why this could change here.
Even if the crypto space is currently going through turbulent times, one can report positive things apart from the price developments. Because the global adoption of cryptocurrencies is still on the rise. This is how the crypto service provider forecasts tripleA by the end of the year the user base had risen to 3.9 percent of the world’s population – almost 300 million people. Germany would have around 2.2 million users.
The digital association Bitkom has now also published a current representative survey on this topic. In this questioned the German digital association 1,004 German citizens over the phone to their opinion about Bitcoin and Co. Although the association noticed a growing interest in Germany, at the same time the skepticism towards digital assets is still predominant.
Bitkom: “Institutional involvement did not bring any confidence boost in Germany”
Many participants felt that their opinion was confirmed by the crashes in recent weeks. Almost 70 percent of those surveyed said they did not trust crypto currencies. Almost as many (68 percent) took the position that Bitcoin and Co. are only for speculators. A slight increase of 3 percent compared to the last survey. One reason for this view could be the lack of comprehensibility for the topic. Because 58 percent said that crypto currencies are too complicated for them. However, the fact that this value has decreased by 8 percent compared to the previous year shows that the background to Bitcoin and Co. has become more tangible.
For many market observers, a major factor in the rise in crypto prices and the associated crypto adoption was the entry of institutional investors. Tesla caused a sensation in February when the automaker invested $ 1.5 billion in Bitcoin. However, that would not have boosted confidence among the German population, says Patrick Hansen, Head of Blockchain at Bitkom.
The recent fall in the share price certainly did not help build confidence. Overall, however, interest increases and the longer the area, contrary to all doom scenarios, grows successfully and attracts further institutional investors and companies, the greater the general confidence in this asset class will probably be.
Patrick Hansen, Head of Blockchain at Bitkom, told BTC-ECHO
“Tax uncertainty a factor”
In addition, certainty in tax issues should also increase adoption in the Federal Republic. A draft from the Federal Ministry of Finance is currently causing discussions within the crypto space. The main point of contention is the increase in holding periods to 10 years for staking and lending. Patrick Hansen on this:
For private investors in particular, the uncertain tax treatment of crypto assets is definitely a hurdle. The current BMF draft offers a long-awaited clarity and is certainly helpful. However, tax assessments are also made in it, for example on staking or lending, which we cannot understand in this form and could possibly deter private investors in Germany from these activities.
Patrick Hansen, Head of Blockchain at Bitkom, told BTC-ECHO
In general, the current opinion of the population coincides with that of the economy. Previously, Bitkom had a similar one in May Survey to entrepreneurs cleverly. A large proportion of them also admitted skepticism towards crypto currencies.
Knowledge of cryptocurrencies and willingness to invest is increasing in Germany
If you compare the values with the last survey in December 2020, you can see that knowledge about cryptocurrencies has generally increased. Last year, 76 percent of those surveyed stated that they had read or heard something about digital assets at least once, this value has now increased by 6 percentage points. Investments in the population are also increasing. In Germany, almost 3 percent of citizens invested directly in crypto currencies, 1 percent more than in December. In addition, 4 percent of those surveyed stated that they were indirectly invested in crypto assets via funds or ETFs. There was no comparison value from the previous year.
In addition, the willingness to invest increased in the Federal Republic. According to the survey, around one in five (19 percent) could imagine entering the crypto space – also an increase of 1 percent. Nevertheless, one in seven believes that they will continue to stay away from crypto currencies. But this value is also down compared to the previous year (73 percent). Hansen sees a positive trend here – both among private and institutional investors.
However, the generally increasing interest and the generally more positive view of younger people indicate a trend towards more understanding and more acceptance of crypto currencies.
Patrick Hansen, Head of Blockchain at Bitkom, told BTC-ECHO
So it remains a matter of time before cryptocurrencies are also widely adopted in this country. When exactly this moment will come is of course difficult to say. The regulatory foundation is currently being laid for this, although it still has deficiencies in some points. But the foundation stone has been set, paving the way for crypto adoption in Germany.