New Huobi Report Reveals Nearly 7 in 10 Crypto Holders Started Investing Last Year

New Huobi Report Reveals Nearly 7 in 10 Crypto Holders Started Investing Last Year

• Global cryptocurrency exchange Huobi surveyed 3,144 adults to better understand mainstream opinion of crypto and crypto investments
• Findings from the report show which cryptocurrencies are popular, what’s holding investors back, and how much people are investing

2021 was crypto’s year, with the total market value of all cryptocurrencies blowing past the $3 trillion mark in November. Publicly listed companies such as MicroStrategy, Tesla, and Coinbase bought billions of dollars in Bitcoin to park their reserve assets. El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in September, and 87 central banking institutions around the world are currently exploring the potential adoption and use cases of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

But after such a landmark year, what does the average person now think of the emerging asset class? Are people investing in crypto? If so, which cryptocurrencies? And just how much are they investing?

Global cryptocurrency exchange Huobi surveyed 3,144 adults to find out just how mainstream perception of crypto has changed over the last year. The survey, held in mid-December through SurveyMonkey, assessed respondents’ knowledge of cryptocurrencies, how they feel about its sudden rise, whether they’re investing in crypto or not, and more.

Crypto Perception Report 2022 packages these findings into clear, digestible insights that tell us what the average person thinks of crypto today.

Skepticism and Concerns are Still Preventing People from Going All-in on Crypto

Despite crypto’s banner year in 2021, many survey respondents still reported concerns that prevented them from investing in it. Nearly 25% of respondents believed that “it’s all a scam/bubble and going to collapse”, while 42% reported feeling ambivalent about its future or that they didn’t know enough about it. That being said, 19% of respondents were strong believers in the growing asset class, supporting the statement that crypto may transform the definition of money in the future.

When asked about top concerns that held them back from investing in crypto, 52% of respondents reported that they didn’t feel knowledgeable enough about the sector. 42% felt it was too risky, and 34% were concerned about the lack of market regulations. 25% of survey respondents said flat out that they didn’t have enough capital to invest in crypto. These were just some of the top concerns that both crypto and non-crypto holders shared about the industry.

Crypto Holder Responses Indicate a More Positive Long-Term Industry Outlook

A more positive outlook emerged amongst those who had already invested in crypto. 28% of Huobi’s 3,144 survey respondents reported that they owned crypto investments; deeper analysis revealed that the overwhelming majority (68%) of these holders had only begun investing within the last year. This indicates that most people are still relatively new to the industry, and that crypto adoption may have more room to grow.

A surprising 40% of these holders reported that they looked to crypto for its long-term investment potential, challenging the common perception that most investors are in it just to make a quick buck. Just 18% of survey respondents who invested in crypto reported doing so for short-term investment potential, while an additional 7% reported that their main motivation was fear of missing out (FOMO).

Yet, of these crypto holders, a whopping 46% reported having $1,000 or less invested in the asset class, with another 25% reporting that they owned between $1,000 and $10,000 worth of crypto. This means that if extrapolated to a greater audience, those with over $10,000 worth of crypto would place in the upper 30^th percentile of all crypto holders by asset value. The comparatively low numbers at which people are investing in crypto indicate that concerns are still holding them back, whether it be perceived risks or a lack of investable capital.

What’s true is this: people will still be talking about crypto in 2022. While only 28% of survey respondents reported owning crypto, another 25% said that though they didn’t own crypto at the moment, they did plan to own it in the future.

To find out more insights from this report, you can download the full version here.