Most Americans Are Now Familiar With Cryptocurrencies Like Bitcoin, Poll Finds

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Pretty much everyone is familiar with Bitcoin by now.

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Most Americans are somewhat familiar with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether, but far fewer people have actually invested in any of them, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center.

Of those surveyed, 86% said they had heard at least a little bit about cryptocurrencies. This included 24% of those polled who said they had heard a lot about crypto. But only 16% said they personally invest in, trade or otherwise use a cryptocurrency.

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The results of the survey, which was conducted September 13-19, show a significant increase in consumer awareness and use of cryptocurrencies in recent years. A 2015 Pew survey, which asked different questions and focused exclusively on Bitcoin, found that only 48% of adults had heard of this digital currency, and only 1% said they had ever used it.

This year’s survey also found that young people were more likely to use cryptocurrencies. Among those surveyed aged 18 to 29, 31% said they had invested, traded, or used cryptocurrency.

Meanwhile, looking at people of all ages, men were twice as likely as women to report ever using cryptocurrency. And men between the ages of 18 and 29 were among the people most likely to have used crypto, with 43% of those surveyed saying they had.

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