Case For Crypto: 37% Want Bitcoin Legalized In Their Countries, Reveals Economist Survey

As much as 37% of those who participated in a survey conducted by The Economist said that they want their governments to declare Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies as legal tender for internal transactions. As many people favoured central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as a financial product.

The Economist magazine surveyed 3,000 people across the the United States, the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, Australia and Singapore and developing economies including Brazil, Turkey, Vietnam, South Africa and the Philippines to determine their current stance on the crypto industry.

While 37% of the respondents said they will support their respective government if it decides to declare Bitcoin or another digital asset as an official payment method, 43% were neutral on the subject, and only 18% said they will disagree with such a move.

The results appeared to be similar when speaking of launching a CBDC. About 37% believe the authorities should release that product, while around 19% think this would be a mistake.

Over 60% of the participants consider buying, holding, or selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs), while only 7% are against this idea.

The respondents were also bullish on decentralized finance (DeFi) since 34% revealed intentions to use such applications for personal or professional financial transactions. In contrast, 17% stated they had no plans to interact with it.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the trends in the payment network and many individuals shifted from cash to digital settlements.

“It’s natural for physical cash to be complemented by digital cash as the world is becoming more digital and it’s a natural evolution,” Tobias Adrian, financial counsellor and director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department of the International Monetary Fund, told The Economist.

“It might not be used much but in principle, being possible to convert into central bank digital currency might be an important anchor for the digital economy.”

After El Salvador declared Bitcoin as legal tender, many other economies considered the same move. Another research conducted revealed that almost 30% of the U.S. residents will be happy to see BTC having the same status in their nation.