According to the survey, users do not trust cryptocurrencies as a digital form of payment

A survey conducted by The Economist newspaper collects data on the increasing use of digital payment methods over the past year, including cryptocurrencies, which don’t seem to create as much trust in users.

Digital currencies issued by government institutions seem to be becoming increasingly popular as a digital form of paymentYes, they say. Commenting on this topic, researchers commented that digital currencies of this type are “the next big thing” and found that:

Blockchain-based cryptocurrencies with no commercial or government-backed endorsements, as well as Bitcoin may be the most well-known decentralized systems, but other players are entering the game. A variety of new cryptocurrencies based on similar technologies are being developed by finance and technology organizations. […] Governments see an opportunity to spend digital currencies to fill a gap, instill trust in users, and use cryptocurrency-like systems at the same time.

The Economist Intelligence Unit

Half of the people surveyed by The Economist come from countries with developed economies such as the United Kingdom, Singapore, France and the United States. USA and Australia. The other half live in countries with developing or emerging countries, including Brazil, Turkey, Vietnam, South Africa and the Philippines. The sample included 3,048 people, 61% of whom were between 18 and 38 years old. According to the report, these are the generations that have best adopted modern digital technologies.

Likewise, 64% of respondents said they had made more than half of their purchases using digital payment methods such as PayPal, WeChat Pay and TransferWise in the past year. During 80% of the respondents were willing to use these payment methods more frequently in daily operations. 28% said they were very likely to make digital payments over the vast majority of their transactions rather than using physical money.

Emerging markets are more sensitive to cryptocurrencies

Only 4% of the total sample assured that they would not make digital payments. In emerging countries, this figure is reduced to 1%. However, researchers believe these economies are more susceptible to digital payment methods. since 41% of respondents in emerging markets said they were users or they had cryptocurrenciesIn industrialized countries, it is only 19%.

The pattern repeats itself in that 79% of respondents in developed countries claim to know or know cryptocurrencies, while this number rises to 92% in emerging markets, which is an overall average of 85%.

The study collects the comments of Antony Lewis, author of The basics of bitcoins and blockchains: an introduction to cryptocurrencies and the technology that drives them Who says that some groups prefer to use digital currencies rather than physical money, but “it requires certain skills and competencies to deal with digital currencies”, and not everyone has this level of experimentation.

According to the researchers, the survey appears to have confirmed these ideas since then those interviewed who have university degrees claimed that they already used cryptocurrencies a reduced trend for people without a high school diploma or equivalent training.

10% of respondents believe that digital payments in their country are used primarily over other physical methods. The researchers also believe that digital payments have plenty of room to conquer them, particularly through the intrusion of mobile devices and other technological innovations.

Education and adoption go hand in hand

However, some of the challenges of this future launch are due to the fact that, for example, 61% of respondents say they are concerned about the privacy of their data. Others (32%) said that security is another factor that slows the adoption of digital currencies. The biggest challenge is how little these tools are understood. 44% of respondents who say this.

34% of those who use cryptocurrencies use it to pay for services and products online, while the rest use them for speculative or investment reasons.

54% cited central government support as an important factor of confidence in the use of digital currencies. While 38% said these cryptocurrencies, which are not supported by any organization, are untrustworthy. “This tells us that a government-backed digital currency would be much more popular than Bitcoin today,” they say.

Among the advantages of introducing digital currencies, the researchers claim that this would lead to greater financial inclusion and lower operating costs, for example by not printing banknotes and minting coins.

As we have previously reported, China appears to be the most advanced country in terms of possible government currency spending. It was recently announced that the country’s agricultural bank is reported to be launching a blockchain-based application for digital wallets. Similarly, other banks around the world are examining their risks and opportunities to do so in their countries.