Coinbase reports the UK residents identify cryptocurrency as an alternative

By Joy Dumasia

Coinbase, in its new research report, states the global cryptocurrency exchange platform has found that many Brits are increasingly identifying cryptocurrency as a viable and reliable alternative to traditional financial systems. 

Cryptocurrency has traditionally been seen as a speculative trading investment. Still, several other use cases have emerged in recent years, such as the ability to earn a return on investments via staking into specific blockchains, the ability to facilitate lending through decentralised finance, and as a way of conducting faster, cheaper remittance transfers. 25% of Coinbase’s customers currently participate in one of these ‘non-investment activities. 

Using independent research firm, Qualtrics, Coinbase surveyed over 2000 British adults who have some familiarity with digital currencies to gain a deeper understanding of their attitudes towards current and future engagement with cryptocurrency. It found that: 

• 41% of Brits saying that their key motivation for investing in crypto was to invest long-term and earn a stable return, 
• Over half of respondents (51%) would be very interested in taking out a loan by using crypto holdings as a guarantee, in place of traditional methods, and 
• 39% of respondents were very likely to use crypto to send money abroad or receive money from outside the UK from friends and family. 

Marcus Hughes, Managing Director for Europe at Coinbase, said: “The future of cryptocurrencies is directly linked to their utility and we are therefore hugely encouraged by these findings. We can see that the attitudes of British consumers towards cryptocurrency have transformed significantly in the last few years, with many now considering adopting cryptocurrency as an alternative method to execute traditional banking functions including transactions and loans.” 

Recently, IBS Intelligence reported that Coinbase has recently published their Quarterly Crypto Market report Q2 2021, of the UK and Europe. The Q2 cryptocurrency market report was commissioned by Coinbase and produced by Apex: E3.