American voters value financial stability as much as their health and family, and feel that inflation is currently the most pressing issue in America
STAMFORD, Conn., Dec. 20, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Grayscale Investments®, the world’s largest crypto asset manager*, today announced findings from a new national survey 2024 Election: The Role of Crypto, conducted on its behalf by The Harris Poll, examining how Americans view crypto, investing, perceptions of the financial system, and how these issues may influence voting decisions in the 2024 United States presidential election.
8 in 10 American adults (82%) plan to vote in the 2024 presidential election. These likely voters believe there are flaws in key elements of the current financial system, including modernity and inclusion, and also see financial technology innovations, like crypto, blockchain, and AI as means to boost transparency and promote financial equality.
“Crypto is here to stay, and the survey data clearly indicates that crypto has never been more relevant heading into an American presidential election,” said Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein. “Likely voters, especially younger generations and voters of color, are voting with their financial future in mind: they are concerned about the state of the economy and are considering presidential candidates’ positions on emerging technologies like crypto before casting their ballots in 2024. The strong interest from both Democrats and Republicans also indicates that crypto is very much a non-partisan topic.”
Highlights from 2024 Election: The Role of Crypto include:
- Voters believe that inflation is the most pressing problem facing America by a wide margin: 26% of respondents, ahead of Gun Violence (15%), State of the Economy (13%), and seven other possible answers. This is largely the consensus across all age groups.
- A majority of American likely voters own investments, and young, male, and minority voters report that inflation has made them more interested in crypto assets. Nearly 7 in 10 respondents report owning some type of investment asset, and nearly 1 in 5 respondents (19%) say that they own crypto, particularly men (23%), Black and Hispanic voters (26%; 32%), as well as younger people (31% of Gen Z versus 5% of Boomers). These same demographics are also among the most likely to report that inflation has made them more interested in crypto (25% for men; 36% and 39% for Blacks, Hispanics; 40% for Gen Z versus 6% of Boomers).
- Crypto familiarity and favorability is greater among younger voters. Gen Z and Millennials are significantly more likely than their older counterparts to be familiar with crypto (67% and 67% versus 28% of Boomers), own crypto (31% and 35% versus 5% for Boomers), and view it as a good long-term investment (38% and 35% versus 5% for Boomers).
- In fact, crypto is the single most popular investment type for young voters. More Gen Z and Millennials own crypto (31%; 35%) than equities (17%; 24%), and a majority of Gen Z and Millennial voters agree that "crypto and blockchain technology are the future of finance" (54%; 58%).
- Crypto has captured the interest of American voters across political parties. 73% of voters agree that presidential candidates should have an informed perspective on innovative technologies like crypto and AI, and 17% of Republicans and 20% of Democrats reported that they hold a crypto asset among their investments. Democrats primarily believe that crypto can help create more inclusive access to the financial system (32%), while Republicans most commonly select “creating new job opportunities” (24%) as what they believe crypto could help address. Democrats gravitate towards Bitcoin primarily as an investment in the future of blockchain technology (68%), while Republicans tend to view Bitcoin as a digital form of gold or hedge against inflation (39% versus 35% for Democrats).
- Nearly half of voters are waiting for greater U.S. regulatory clarity around crypto. 46% of voters say that they are waiting for additional policies before investing in crypto, and 48% say that additional policies or regulation around crypto would make them more likely to invest.
Methodology
This survey was conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of Grayscale via its Harris On Demand omnibus product within the United States between November 27 - 29, 2023. 2,090 total adults were surveyed, including 1,759 adults (ages 18+) that plan to vote in the U.S. 2024 presidential election. Data were weighted where necessary by a variety of factors – including age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, education, marital status, household size, household income, employment, and propensity to be online – to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Poll surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured with a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.7 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to other multiple sources of error, which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including but not limited to: coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments.
To learn more about the survey, please visit: www.grayscale.com/elections.
*Largest by AUM As of 9/30/2023
About Grayscale Investments®
Grayscale enables investors to access the digital economy through a family of regulated and future-forward investment products. Founded in 2013, Grayscale has a proven track record and deep expertise as the world’s largest crypto asset manager. Investors, advisors, and allocators turn to Grayscale for single asset, diversified, and thematic exposure. Grayscale products are distributed by Grayscale Securities, LLC (Member FINRA/SIPC).
Media Contact
Jennifer Rosenthal
press@grayscale.com
