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Skepticism of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general has decreased in recent months as the world's largest cryptocurrency by market cap lodged a new all-time high in March. Jernej Furman/flickr.com

KEY POINTS

  • A Deutsche Bank survey revealed that a growing number of people believe crypto will become an "important asset class"
  • However, a third of the US respondents still believe Bitcoin will nosedive below $20,000 by year-end 2024
  • Some of Bitcoin's biggest critics have recently been coming around, including Donald Trump

Skepticism over Bitcoin among American consumers is decreasing slightly, a recent Deutsche Bank survey showed. However, some people still see the world's largest cryptocurrency by market cap falling significantly by the end of the year.

According to the survey's results, which Reuters first reported, 52% of 3,600 consumers surveyed said they believe cryptocurrencies will become an "important asset class and method of payment transactions" in the future. In the last survey in September, less than 40% said that.

The survey also found that 30% of American respondents expect Bitcoin prices to drop below $20,000 at the end of the year, compared to 35% who said the same in February and 36% who had the same sentiments in January.

Regarding expectations of Bitcoin prices going up by year-end, only 10% of the respondents said they expect the digital asset to jump above $75,000 at the end of 2024.

Interestingly, Bitcoin made a new record in March when it jumped above $73,800, erasing previous record highs above $68,000. It had a very impressive bull run in Q1 2024 as the crypto community rallied following the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Over the weekend, it climbed back to $72,000 after dropping sharply to around $65,000 last week.

In terms of cryptocurrencies in general, the number of people who think crypto and digital assets are "just a fad that will eventually fade" dropped to less than 1%, marking signaling more positive views of the emerging industry.

The survey's results come as the crypto industry watches closely how Bitcoin prices will react around the halving, an event wherein rewards for BTC miners are cut in half, thus reducing the availability of new Bitcoins in the market.

Views are not widely mixed regarding the halving's impact on prices as most Bitcoiners still believe the world's first decentralized cryptocurrency can possibly reach new all-time highs as it has historically proven in previous halvings.

On the other hand, skepticism around cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin has been around since Satoshi Nakamoto first emerged with the digital coin. Years after its conception, the biggest critics are in traditional banking, including Goldman Sachs. The investment banking giant has been saying it is a non-believer in crypto but just last week, it was added as an authorized participant in BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF.

There has been an apparent turnaround among some of crypto's biggest critics, including former U.S. President Donald Trump, who said in mid-March that crypto is "an additional form of currency, revealing that he has had "fun with" Bitcoin at times too. Over two years ago, he said Bitcoin "just seems like a scam."

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