4 in 5 American consumers ‘would never consider’ using digital currency

A recent survey of American consumers probed for what could be the acceptance ceiling of digital currencies such as Bitcoin, and it found that the ceiling might actually be pretty low.

The survey, conducted by research company OMNITEL, found that 76% of American consumers were unfamiliar with Bitcoin, and 79% said they never had nor ever would use digital currencies.

A full 80% said they preferred to buy gold. Only 38%, however, considered the currency a threat to the US dollar.

Younger people were more likely to be familiar with Bitcoin. Thirty-two percent of respondents from the 18-24 age bracket recognized the currency, whereas only 11% did from the 65 and older age bracket.

Those younger respondents were also more than three times as likely to believe Bitcoin would help the global economy and that it would be a boon to the US dollar.

The survey was conducted between the 24 and 26 of January, 2014, with 1,005 interviews conducted. Three-quarters of those were done over landline phones, and one-quarter of those were done over cell phones. OMNITEL reports a margin of error of 3%.