Austrians Are Skeptical About Bitcoin, ING Survey Shows

Austria, one of Europe’s most prominent economies is among the most skeptical countries in terms of cryptocurrencies in general. ING, which is one of the largest insurance brokers in Europe, published a report from an online survey. ING surveyed customers in 13 European countries – Belgium, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Romania, Spain, Turkey, and the Czech Republic. The survey was also conducted with USA and Australian participants. More than 15,000 people took part in the survey.

The report states that only 13 percent of Austrians actually believe in Bitcoin’s future. Next in the chart are Luxemburg and the Netherlands with 15% belief in Bitcoin, and Belgium with 16%. The survey also discovered that Turks and Romanians are the nations with the best support for Bitcoin’s future, with positive feedback on Bitcoin is 62% and 44%, respectively.

The cryptocurrency sector also suffered a hit in terms of Austrians’ comprehension on crypto future. One fifth of the surveyed Austrians in 2018 were thinking that the future of online digital payments will rely on crypto. The percentage dropped to 17%, which was followed by another drop with further 3%. Only one in twenty Austrians are open to the idea of receiving their monthly salary in BTC instead of fiat. The statistics show that Austria can be regarded as the most crypto-skeptic nation in Europe, concludes the ING survey.

ING states that Austrians value safe and risk-free transactions and investments.

These results, however, are in a stark contrast with Austria’s economic landscape. The 2018 crypto winter managed to break the strong belief in Bitcoin in Austrians and the rest of the leading economies. On the contrary, economies with volatile currencies such as Turkey, are resorting to cryptocurrencies and deploy them as a medium for storing value in times when their local currency devaluates.