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- 27 percent of Americans are in support of the government making Bitcoin legal tender, a study by YouGov has found.
- The study found the most support for such a move with the younger generation and those making over $80,000 a year.
Should Bitcoin become legal tender in the U.S? 27 percent of Americans would support such a move, a new poll has found. The study, conducted by British market research firm YouGov, found that Democrats, those on the upper side of the income pyramid and those below 34 years of age to support the move much more than their peers.
With the Bitcoin Law taking effect recently, El Salvador became the first country in the world to recognize a cryptocurrency as legal tender. This has had a ripple effect across the globe, with some nations like Panama moving swiftly to table a similar bill and other countries considering taking such positions.
According to London-based YouGov, one in three Americans wouldn’t be opposed to a similar move. In its poll, which questioned 4,912 Americans, YouGov found that 11 percent strongly supported the move while 16 percent ‘would somewhat support it.’
The poll also found some traits that determined whether an American citizen supported the move or not, such as political affiliations and average income.
Democrats were a bit more supportive of the move than Republicans, it found, at 29 vs. 26 percent respectively. Those earning $80,000 and above annually were also more supportive of the move at 21 percent. On the other hand, those making $40,000 or less were much less enthusiastic about the move at 11 percent.
The younger respondents were also more supportive of the move than their older peers. Those aged 25-34 are highly supportive at almost 1 in 2 while baby boomers (57-75) strongly opposed the idea at 43 percent.
After El Salvador, who’s next with Bitcoin?
El Salvador’s move – whether you support it or believe it was too big a leap – was very significant to the future of Bitcoin. It’s a move that will be watched closely by the Bitcoin community and the skeptics alike (and there are many of the latter).
If it succeeds, it will prove that Bitcoin can become a digital currency that can one day offer an alternative to the state-controlled fiat currencies. If it fails or hits a snag, it will almost certainly discredit BTC and take away any chance it ever had of becoming a global currency.
Read More: Following El Salvador, will Bitcoin become a global legal tender?
And while 27 percent of Americans may support a ‘Bitcoin Law,’ it’s very unlikely that the world’s greatest economy will be next in adopting BTC as legal tender. To start with, it has yet to define cryptocurrencies legally or come to a consensus on which regulatory body has jurisdiction.
The next move will likely be made by a smaller economy, likely in the Caribbean or South America. Panama has already kickstarted a legal process that could see Bitcoin legalized for payments. However, Panama will not be forcing the citizens to accept Bitcoin unless they want, unlike the controversial Article 7 of El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law.
