More Merchants, Not So Much Spending: A Mixed Report on Insider Sentiment on Crypto

When it comes to the potential for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to be a real-world payment method, users, investors, and blockchain executives have a somewhat mixed view on the matter. Asked whether they think more merchants will start accepting crypto this year, 49% agree and 23% strongly agree that they will. Just 11% disagree while a meager 2% strongly disagree. Sixteen percent have no opinion.

Yet, when asked how they feel about Bitcoin’s positive attributes, these respondents are far less sanguine about payments. The top-ranked attribute was as a “hedge against central bank monetary policy,” with 31% ranking this first. Other highly ranked advantages are “digital gold with counterfeit protection” and “it’s uncensorable and immutable,” both cited number one by 25% of respondents. “Great for payments and a medium of exchange” was ranked first by just 13%, with fully 34% of respondents giving this attribute a last-place vote. Respondents could rank each attribute from 1 (most positive) to 5 (least positive).

These are some of the results of a survey released Wednesday by Coindesk, an online newsletter that follows blockchain developments. The results were released as part of the newsletter’s quarterly “State of Blockchain Report.” For the survey, Coindesk contacted some 1,231 readers, including executives and developers working part- and full-time in blockchain, as well as accredited and unaccredited investors.

This crowd is decidedly on the side of holding on to their crypto assets (a tactic that’s come to be known as HODLing as a result of someone’s typographical error on social media) rather than spending them. HODLing is seen as the more important strategy by 70% of respondents. Asked how often they spend their assets on goods and services, 73% indicated “almost never” for Bitcoin. That was the most positive result for spending. Results for the seven other cryptocurrencies listed were over 80%.

Overall, the study found the market capitalization for all cryptocurrencies combined fell 1.25% in the quarter ended June 30 to $245 billion. Since then, however, Bitcoin has rallied, and was trading at better than $8,000 Wednesday, the first time it has exceeded that level since May 22, according to Coinmarketcap.com.