The latest Reason-Rupe
poll is one of the first polls to ask
Americans about Bitcoin, the new online digital currency. Only
8 percent of Americans said they knew “a lot” about it, 11 percent
said “some,” 24 percent said “a little,” and a majority (56
percent) said “nothing at all.”
The poll then described Bitcoin to respondents as “a new online
digital currency that is not connected to any particular country’s
currency system and is not controlled by any government.” Then,
even despite the high number who knows nothing about Bitcoin, a
plurality (47 percent) said government should not allow people to
use Bitcoins to purchase goods and services, while 38 percent said
it should be allowed and another 14 percent don’t know.
The poll found that the people
who know the least about Bitcoin want to ban in the most.
However, among those who know a fair amount about Bitcoin, they
favored allowing it by a margin of 62 to 34 percent. Among those
who know nothing at all, they want to ban it 54 to 27 percent.
Support for Bitcoin increases with education and income, and
declines with age. Americans making more than $110,000 a year
support allowing Bitcoin by a margin of 55 to 39 percent.
Conversely, households making less than $75,000 a year tend
to oppose with only 36 percent in favor and 49 percent who think
Bitcoin should be prohibited. Roughly half of those who have not
attended college are weary of Bitcoin, but a plurality of college
graduates think it should be allowed. As described below,
millennials are considerably more supportive of Bitcoin. Men (43
percent) are slightly more likely than women (34 percent) to favor
allowing Bitcoin. Racial groups are equally likely to lean toward
prohibiting Bitcoin.
Bitcoin’s Ideological Experiment
Bitcoin offers a unique opportunity—a type of experiment—to
examine how people react to things with which they are
unfamiliar. Some individuals have a natural predisposition to
ban things they don’t understand while others naturally lean toward
individual autonomy unless someone convinces them that someone else
will be harmed. The question of Bitcoin provides a useful tool to
delineate between those who opt for control or choice.
So what types of individuals are most likely to favor choice or
control? Millennials, tech-savvy gamers, political independents,
and libertarians.
Among young people 18-24, 59 percent say Bitcoin should be
allowed, this drops to 46 percent among 35-44 year olds and then
further to 22 percent among seniors 65 and older. This is part of a
larger trend we’re observing with this generation: socially liberal
with undecided economic views, but cares deeply about
personalization and individual autonomy.
Arguably, individuals who play video games frequently are also
necessarily more tech-savvy. Reason-Rupe finds that tech savvy
gamers also support allowing Bitcoin 55 to 35 percent. In contrast,
Americans who never play video games, say government should
prohibit Bitcoin 51 percent to 30 percent. Like millennials, gamers
also exhibit a tendency toward personal choice on issues beyond
Bitcoin.
Unlike partisans, roughly half of political independents and
independents who lean Republican favor allowing Bitcoin, while 35
percent want it banned. In contrast, a majority (57 percent) of
Democrats want it prohibited, as do 52 percent of Republicans.
While sample sizes are too small to draw firm conclusions, it’s
intuitive that 66 percent of self identified libertarians want to
allow Bitcoin while only 17 percent think it should be prohibited.
Self-identified conservatives were the most likely to want to ban
it by a margin of 53 to 33 percent.
Examining underlying beliefs about the role and power of
government, Reason-Rupe finds that a majority (53 percent) of
Americans who think government should promote traditional values
are unfavorable toward Bitcoin, compared to 32 percent who favor
it. But not only social conservatives want government to control
Bitcoin, so do Americans who prefer a strong government and who say
there is more government should be doing (both 50 percent
opposed).
In fact, asking questions about the appropriate scope and power
of governmentallows
us to group Americans according to beliefs on economic and social
issues respectively creating four groups: those who lean
libertarian, conservative, liberal, and communitarian (socially
conservative but fiscally liberal). Each group comprises about a
fifth of the population respectively, with the remainder in the
ideological center.
Among the political groups, only the group defined as
libertarian reaches a majority (52 percent) in support of Bitcoin;
liberals follow closely with 48 percent, then 37 percent of
conservatives, and 24 percent of communitarians. These results
confirm intuition: the more libertarian a person, the more
predisposed they are to allow personal choice.
Nationwide telephone poll conducted March 26-30 2014
interviewed 1003 adults on both mobile (503) and landline (500)
phones, with a margin of error +/- 3.6%. Princeton Survey Research
Associates International executed the nationwide Reason-Rupe
survey. Columns may not add up to 100% due to rounding. Full
poll results, detailed tables, and methodology found here. Sign
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Reason-Rupe poll here.
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