FILIPINOS are becoming more aware of cryptocurrencies, according to Capstone-Intel Corp. Chief Data Scientist Guido David.
This is shown in the research and intelligence company’s survey conducted from May 1 to 10, with 1,200 respondents nationwide.
“The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive description of Filipino individuals’ awareness, perception and investment practices concerning cryptocurrency and NFTs (non-fungible tokens),” David said.
Based on results, Bitcoin was the most widely-recognized listed digital asset of such kind among the participants, with 93 percent expressing awareness of it.
This was followed by Binance USD (53 percent), Ethereum (54 percent), Dogecoin (33 percent), USD coin (32 percent), XRP (28 percent), Tether (26 percent), BNB (22 percent), Solana (19 percent), Cardano (15 percent), Polygon (16 percent) and Polkadot (2 percent).
The data also indicated that the extent of knowledge of people on the many types of accessible digital currencies vary, as well as their decisions in betting on them.
More than half (51 percent) of those surveyed said that the top reason for them to invest in cryptocurrencies is its potential for higher returns on investment.
Forty-three percent, however, were hesitant because of their lack of information on the initial steps to get started. The research, likewise, revealed the level of awareness in accordance to sex, age and educational background, among other demographic profiles of the respondents from 17 regions in the country.
Per location, participants were from Region 1V A (15 percent), National Capital Region (12 percent) and Region III (12 percent), Region VI (7 percent), Region VII (7 percent), Region V (6 percent), Region XII (5 percent), Region X (5 percent), Region I (5 percent), Region XI (5 percent), Region IX (4 percent), Region VIII (4 percent), Mimaropa (3 percent), Region XIII (3 percent), Region II (3 percent), BARMM (3 percent) and CAR (2 percent).
Gender-wise, both sexes are quite close when it comes to their familiarity of the digital currency, with 50.4 percent of them are women and 49.6 percent are men.
The youngest participants are between 18 to 24 years old (22 percent), with 41 percent of them having less than P1,000 investment in cryptos.
Other age groups with the same appetite were 25 to 34 years old at 28 percent; 35 to 44 years old, 25 percent; and 53 to 54 years old, 25 percent.
The most seniors aged 65 to 75 are the least acquainted with cryptocurrency at 3 percent, the survey showed. Surprisingly, though, investors in this age bracket put between P5,001 and P10,000 into their preferred crypto.
In terms of academic attainment, 58 percent of the respondents were college graduates; 20 percent, college undergraduates; 12 percent, high school completers; and, 5 percent, technical vocational certificate holders.
Meanwhile, those who joined the survey reaching high school level registered the lowest at 2 percent, but post-graduates presumed to have the high level of knowledge and investment appetite were only at 3 percent.
The religious affinity of the surveyed comprised Roman Catholics (70 percent), Born Again Christians (12 percent), Muslims (4 percent) and Iglesia ni Kristo (4 percent). The remaining 7 percent belong to other religions, as 2 percent have professed no religious affiliation and 2 percent opted not to disclose their religious beliefs.
As regards to economic capacity, the sources of revenue for the participants are salaried employment (53 percent), followed by self-employment (23 percent), business ownership (14 percent) and commission or project-based work (12 percent).
David said Capstone-Intel uses innovative research technologies, tools and methods to turn data and information into breakthrough insights and actionable intelligence outputs.
The responses are aggregated, without divulging the personal information of the participants.
“In this survey, respondents’ personal identifiable information was not collected. You might ask why. This strategic decision effectively mitigated the risk of exposing respondents’ individual values in their responses. Additionally, this approach fosters a perception of trustworthiness and reverence towards the surveyed populace,” David said.
Image credits: Bloomberg
