Grayscale Survey Shows there is a “Steady Growth” in Interest in Bitcoin

The Bitcoin ecosystem has grown remarkably over the past year, and Grayscale has put some numbers to this growth through a recently conducted survey. According to a survey of 1000 Americans conducted by the digital currency asset manager, the number of Americans who own Bitcoin has increased to 26% in 2021 from 23% in 2020.

This data is complemented by the fact that more than half, about 55% of current investors in Bitcoin began investing over the last 12 months. This corresponds to the time when Bitcoin’s price surged from about $18,300 to its current price of $49,232.62 according to CoinMarketCap. With Bitcoin closer to achieving a $100,000 valuation when it hit an all-time high score above $65,000, more institutional and retail investors are now beginning to embrace the asset as a store of value than as a cryptocurrency.

Per the Grayscale survey, as many as 59% of the respondents consider Bitcoin an investment product, as against the 55% in 2020, and 36% in 2019 respectively. 

“It is becoming increasingly difficult for investors to ignore Bitcoin as its price continues to rise. The interested market for Bitcoin investment products expanded to 59% in 2021, up from just over half (55%) in 2020 and slightly more than one-third (36%) in 2019, reflecting a steady growth in interest.”

The Embrace of Exchanges and Investment-Linked Products

A major highlight of the Grayscale survey is the enthusiasm with which investors claim they are willing to invest in Bitcoin-linked investment products such as Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). According to the survey, more than three-quarters or about 77% of U.S. investors said they would be more likely to invest in Bitcoin if an ETF existed.

While regulators in other economies have long permitted the emergence of a Bitcoin ETF product to trade on their soil, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally allowed a Bitcoin Futures ETF sponsored by ProShares to begin trading this third quarter. This move was well celebrated as it marked a paradigm shift in the eventual approach to floating a full-fledged BTC ETF.

Herein is the deal for Grayscale. While the firm, backed by the Digital Currency Group is known to sponsor key crypto investment vehicles to advance the growth of the space, it is doggedly pursuing a Bitcoin-backed ETF by convincing the SEC and allaying all fears that have caused rejection thus far. With the knowledge that Americans are interested in such a product, more impetus will be granted to Grayscale in a bid to pursue its plans.