Crypto users are older than believed, survey finds

Age is not a barrier to cryptocurrency adoption, according to a new study by payment platform Wirex and the Stellar Development Foundation. 

One of the most interesting findings in “The Future of Money: Cryptocurrency adoption in 2021” was the age of the participants. Fully 57% of the 3,834 Wirex and Stellar users surveyed about their attitudes towards cryptocurrency adoption were older 45, and nearly 83% were over the age of 35.

While crypto is generally considered a young person’s game, 30% of the group was aged 45-54, and 26% were older than 55. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the audience surveyed, the Jan. 21 report found that 83% have digital assets, and nearly 86% said they felt safe using cryptocurrencies.

Three-quarters said they view crypto payments as a viable alternative to traditional money transfer services, according to an announcement. 

Yet just one in four said they have heard the term “stablecoin” before. 

The survey also looked at international transaction fees. Three quarters said they had sent money abroad, and more than half of the respondents said the felt fees were too high. 

Wirex CEO and co-founder Pavel Matveev said the results highlighted the importance of conducting research in this industry.

“It’s clear that crypto is a considerably under-researched area,” he said. “It’s vital that we better understand it to be able to produce products that rival the traditional economy and address users’ concerns.”

Stellar Development Foundation CEO and executive director Denelle Dixon explained that user knowledge is a prerequisite of adoption.

“To foster greater participation in the global financial system, it is important that people understand how to access services and what options are available to them to spend and save money,” she said. “Traditional cross-border payments are costly and take time to settle, but it doesn’t have to be this way.”

She’s in good company. The United Nations’ World Bank called reducing those fees—particularly for poor and unbanked remittance workers—a Sustainable Development Goal in 2019 calling for fees to drop from an average of 7% to 3% by 2030. It said more than half a trillion dollars was sent internationally as remittances. That means some of the poorest people on earth were charged fees of $3.5 billion.

International payments firm Ripple notes that cross-border transactions currently take three to five days to complete, and have transaction fees that average $25-$35.