4% of Brits think cryptocurrencies are something ‘woke’ that Generation Z is into

One of the biggest barriers to cryptocurrencies is undoubtedly their understanding.

Blockchain technology is difficult to understand. It has only been around since 2009, so it can sometimes be difficult to find good resources to learn more about it. Not only that, but repeated collapses – the FTX implosion being the latest – have deterred people from participating.

Education is paramount. That was the most important thing I noticed when I visited El Salvador this summer, where Bitcoin is legal tender. A lot of people I talked to had trouble really understanding it.

A cashier at Wallmart told me that I couldn’t pay with Bitcoin because I didn’t have the government-owned Chivo wallet. Obviously, this is not true, because the Bitcoin Lightning network does not discriminate: just a QR code and your Bitcoin is transferable. It is a decentralized network and there is no possibility that some wallets cannot send to others.

A waiter also said he tried to figure it out but gave up after a week because he “didn’t have a computer brain.”

It’s not so different outside of El Salvador. I recently wrote about the fact that 48% of Britons know next to nothing about cryptography. The same is true for countries all over the world. But since I just moved to London, let’s look at the Brits for the moment.

Major misconceptions

According to a survey conducted by VoucherCodes.co.uk, below are some of the biggest misconceptions in the UK, which I have put together in a table:

I think the table says it all.

While the first two are quite understandable, the others show that there is still a large section of the British population who does not understand simply doesn’t understand cryptography. That’s perfectly fine. In fact, it’s a good thing: it shows how much the industry could grow.

But the first step toward adoption is education. In fact, I think that’s what they did wrong in El Salvador. Spontaneously announcing that Bitcoin is legal tender – from a Bitcoin conference in Miami – without prior notice or discussion with people is not the way to go.

The UK, of course, is not going to announce that Bitcoin is legal tender any time soon (although with the recent performance of the pound, nothing is ruled out).

But the barriers are still there. And for the 2%: no, Elon Musk didn’t invent cryptocurrency – unless you think he’s Satoshi Nakamoto? I guess that can’t be ruled out.

Sources

VoucherCodes.co.uk