Majority of Americans still clueless about cryptocurrency

Other than Bitcoin, most Americans still don’t know anything about the general cryptocurrency market, according to the latest study.
Earlier this week, the price of Bitcoin made history when it reached a total market capitalization cap of $182 billion. Additionally, initial coin offerings (ICOs), attracted worldwide attention as it became the most lucrative way for startups to raise capital.

However, despite these achievements, there are a large amount of Americans who are still more or less clueless about matters pertaining to cryptocurrency. According to the findings of a LendEU survey, 68.4% of Americans have never heard of, or read about, Ethereum.

Despite Americans having little knowledge on the subject, Ethereum is perhaps the most well-known cryptocurrency, after Bitcoin. Currently, there is approximately $30 billion worth of Ethereum circulating worldwide. However, the price of Ethereum has not gained as much strength as Bitcoin and is more volatile.

Bitcoin is more widely recognized among Americans, with 78.6% of Americans stating that they know about Bitcoin. This is unsurprising, as Bitcoin's soaring prices continue to make headlines throughout the country. After the massive growth that the currency has experienced in the last few months, there is currently $110 billion worth of Bitcoin in circulation worldwide. Most notably, however, 11% of Americans believe that purchasing or owning Bitcoin is illegal in the US.

When it comes to ICOs, Americans seem mostly oblivious. According to the survey, only 25% of Americans know about ICOs. However, 21% of Americans believed that investing in ICOs is considered illegal in the US. Moreover, 61% of those surveyed were unsure of ICO’s legality in the country.

Unsurprisingly, younger age groups seemed more knowledgeable about cryptocurrency. In the age group of 55 and older, only 13% of Americans surveyed knew of Ethereum, whereas those aged 18-24, 58.5% stated that they knew of Ethereum.

In the entire survey, only 15% of Americans stated that they intend to invest in an ICO.

The LendEU survey was facilitated by the firm, OnePoll. The survey was extended to 1,000 American citizens over the age of 18.