A study of Irish attitudes to cryptocurrencies has revealed a shift “from suspicion to curiosity” based on the increase in knowledge, trading, and usage of digital currencies in the European country.
The Irish Times[1] recently published the findings of a study by Amárach Research and communications agency Red Flag. The research suggests around 120,000 people in Ireland own cryptocurrency, an increase that would equate to around 300%.
According to the Times, the study also suggests more than 180,000 people have in recent years traded or used Bitcoin, leading to the conclusion that attitudes are shifting. It also found that 85% of those surveyed were aware of Bitcoin, compared to less than half in a previous Amárach Research study in 2014.
Amárach Research and Red Flag conducted the survey with a “representative sample” of 1,000 people in Ireland over the age of 16. A study they say is the first in a series “examining currency and fintech innovations.”
The survey found men in Ireland were only slightly more likely to use cryptocurrencies than women. From the raw data[2] 5% of those surveyed who owned cryptocurrencies were men and 3% were women.
It also found millennials in the 25-34-year-old age bracket are three times more likely to own cryptocurrencies than other age segments.
The data seems to conflict with a more apparent global divide of fewer women than men using cryptocurrencies. Around 5-7% per cent of total cryptocurrency users are women according to a report by Forbes[3] in December 2017.
A recent survey by the London Block Exchange[4] found that one in eight women in the U.K would consider investing in a cryptocurrency, a figure of 13% compared to a previous figure of 6% in late 2017.
Agnes de Royere,
