In brief: Pew Research Center in its latest survey found that 86 percent of Americans have at least heard a little about cryptocurrencies, while nearly a quarter (24 percent) say they have heard a lot about them. Only 13 percent said they have heard nothing at all about crypto.
Furthermore, a full 16 percent of those questioned say they have personally invested in, traded or otherwise used cryptocurrency at some point.
Pew also found patters among crypto usage / interest and demographic groups. For example, men were about twice as likely as women to have reported ever using any type of cryptocurrency. Furthermore, virtual currencies are more popular among younger demographics, with 31 percent of those ages 18-29 having invested in, traded or used crypto, compared to just three percent of those aged 65 or older.
Crypto was also found to be more popular among Asian, Hispanic and Black adults (in that order) compared to White adults, although there was no statistically significant differences in crypto interest when looking at household income.
Pew surveyed 11,505 US adults between September 13 and September 19, 2021, for the survey, although only 10,371 panelists responded, resulting in a response rate of 90 percent.
Bitcoin, the first and largest decentralized digital currency by market cap, debuted in early 2009, but it'd be many more years before it'd enter the mainstream ethos. As illustrated by Pew's survey, crypto in general is pretty well known today with a collective market cap of nearly $3 trillion.
Masthead credit Alesia Kozik