Wells Fargo/ Gallup poll shows that one in four investors are intrigued by Bitcoin

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While news on Gallup show that only 2 percent of investors currently own Bitcoin, 26 percent or 1 in 4 investors are "intrigued by bitcoin but won't be buying it anytime soon", while most investors (72 percent) have no interest in ever owning Bitcoin. There is a potential for a 26 percent growth in Bitcoin investors, should they buy Bitcoin in the future.

The Gallup Investor and Retirement Optimism Index survey was conducted on US adults with $10,000 or more invested in stocks, binds or mutual funds. The poll shows that the majority of Bitcoin owners are male, aged 18 to 49, with earnings of more than $90,000 or more. While Bitcoin is already known as a digital currency, investors generally see Bitcoin investments as "Very Risky" or "Somewhat Risky".

Bitcoin is distinctively more familiar with the younger generation and those who are more open to innovation.

Additionally, among the large group of investors who say they have heard of bitcoin, men and younger investors are more likely than their counterparts to say they are intrigued by bitcoin -- and less likely to say they're certain they will never buy it.
Source: Gallup

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There is quite some change in sentiment compared to another survey done in November 2017 by Triad Securities, where half of the participants are aged 45 and older. When asked where do you think Bitcoin is going, 40 percent of the survey participants agreed that "This is a bubble - it must crash".

30 percent of the participants have been involved in Bitcoin, a large difference to the Gallup poll with only 2 percent of the investors that are holding Bitcoin. One logical guess would be that more Bitcoin investors are casual investors who are not involved with other financial products.

However there were a few consensus in these surveys. Firstly, would be the agreement that Bitcoin is risky or has low confidence in Bitcoin offerings. High market volatility is not usually tolerable by risk-adverse investors. Bitcoin presents itself as an emerging new financial product that could only be gradually accepted by the mainstream. It is not surprising, as the number of investors in stocks, bonds or mutual funds are not significant in the mainstream population.

Image source: pixabay - Free-Photos

Next, Bitcoin is, and has always been seen as a fair comparison to Gold with a reliable store of value. Triad Securities's survey show that 40 percent of the respondents would consider Bitcoin as a safe haven store of value similar to gold.

Investments are never mainstream sentiments. For example when a company's stocks is doing badly, people tend to be negative and cause panic to sell stocks. However well-informed investors always study the company's future trend, potential for growth as well as evaluate the company's position in the market.

-tysler