Ireland: Nearly 120,000 people have a digital currency and grow 300% in four years

A new study in the Irish Times shows that about 120,000 people in Ireland now have at least one encrypted currency, up 3 times times over the past 4 years.

  

The researchers say their findings suggest that public attitudes towards cryptographic currencies have “shifted from suspicion to curiosity”.

The study was conducted jointly by Amárach Research and the communications agency Red Flag.

Last month, they conducted a survey of 1,000 people over the age of 16. The survey said it was “a series of studies on monetary and financial technological innovation”.

The cryptocurrency is controlled by technology independent of the national central bank and has been widely reported in the media in recent years. It also reflects a rise in recognition of Irish bitcoin.

In the survey, 85 percent of people knew about cryptocurrencies, compared with less than 50 percent in 2014.

The findings suggest that men are slightly better at using encrypted currency than women. The 25-34-Year-old generation has three times times the likelihood of having a cryptographic currency than anyone else.

Bitcoin is the most popular encrypted currency in the current user, with Bitcoin accounting for 44%, and around 30% owning the Wright dollar, while another 27% prefer the ether square.

But while awareness and use of these cryptocurrency currencies are on the rise, most people still know little or nothing about their actual USES.

About three-quarters of respondents had never heard of blockchain or knew it was a technology used to encrypt money. About a quarter had heard of it, and about 40 per cent said they “knew very little”.

Gerard O’Neill, Chairman of Amárach, said:
Supporters of cryptocurrencies have a long way to go in Ireland.

However, he said the rise in interest rates created the ideal conditions for a higher degree of acceptance of the encrypted currency.

Deirdre Grant, managing director of Irish Red Flag, said:
It’s a fast-growing industry in Ireland, especially for young people.

However, the level of understanding remains low, with one in eight respondents believing that cryptocurrency is mainly used by criminals. That suggests the public and regulators need to spread more information about the industry.