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The cryptocurrency industry has been working overtime to sell a story: that there is a large contingent of voters voting based on candidates’ crypto policy stances. The problem is, it’s a story that does not seem to be well supported by data.
https://www.citationneeded.news/when-did-cryptocurrency-become-a-voter-issue/
An April 2024 survey funded by the Digital Currency Group and published by the crypto lobbying group The Blockchain Association was not shy about aiming its messaging directly at politicians, trying to convince them of the existence of a sizable crypto voting bloc.
A glance at the survey design quickly reveals the story the industry was hoping to tell with the results. Even more profound are the kinds of questions that were not included, which could have provided a clearer (but perhaps unwanted) view of voters’ actual beliefs.
Furthermore, the supposed number of crypto holders (“52 million”!) that companies like Coinbase like to throw around come largely from a poorly-designed survey with methodology its designers seem unwilling to disclose, and are vastly higher than other estimates.
![The American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, which is behind the Stand With Crypto advocacy group and super PAC [I62], loves to trot out the figure: “52 million Americans own crypto”. This would suggest that more than 20% of adult Americans hold crypto. Other even higher figures have been presented, including those as large as 100 million — or more than 1/3 of the adult population. The thinking goes: if such a large proportion of Americans own crypto, surely they will support crypto-friendly candidates at the ballot box.c
The number is, however, highly dubious.
The 52 million figure comes from a 2023 Coinbase-funded survey by Morning Consult that dramatically contradicts other surveys, such as a report from the Federal Reserve7 that found that only 7% of adultsd had engaged in any use of cryptocurrency that year (including buying or holding), and, furthermore, that that figure was shrinking. The Fed survey also notes that their number may skew high because the survey was conducted online.
Table 21. Cryptocurrency use
Type of use 2021 2022 2023
Bought cryptocurrency or held
as an investment 11 8 7
Used cryptocurrency to buy
something or make a payment 2 2 1
Used cryptocurrency to send money to friends or family 1 2 1
Any use of cryptocurrency 12 10 7
Note: Among all adults. Respondents could select multiple answers.](https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/872/276/260/489/908/original/e6181079bba42494.png "The American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, which is behind the Stand With Crypto advocacy group and super PAC [I62], loves to trot out the figure: “52 million Americans own crypto”. This would suggest that more than 20% of adult Americans hold crypto. Other even higher figures have been presented, including those as large as 100 million — or more than 1/3 of the adult population. The thinking goes: if such a large proportion of Americans own crypto, surely they will support crypto-friendly candidates at the ballot box.c
The number is, however, highly dubious.
The 52 million figure comes from a 2023 Coinbase-funded survey by Morning Consult that dramatically contradicts other surveys, such as a report from the Federal Reserve7 that found that only 7% of adultsd had engaged in any use of cryptocurrency that year (including buying or holding), and, furthermore, that that figure was shrinking. The Fed survey also notes that their number may skew high because the survey was conducted online.
Table 21. Cryptocurrency use
Type of use 2021 2022 2023
Bought cryptocurrency or held
as an investment 11 8 7
Used cryptocurrency to buy
something or make a payment 2 2 1
Used cryptocurrency to send money to friends or family 1 2 1
Any use of cryptocurrency 12 10 7
Note: Among all adults. Respondents could select multiple answers.")
![Statistician David Marker recently opined in an interview with Jake Donoghue:
“This survey has not provided enough information to refute claims of it being low quality and spurious. [Morning Consult] hasn’t presented evidence to make you feel comfortable… with a survey which was funded by an organization which would like and benefit from these results.”
Marker then noted his concerns that there may have been a serious sampling flaw in Morning Consult’s survey that, if it exists, would invalidate the numbers entirely. Though Donoghue was able to discuss the survey with Morning Consult, they stopped responding when he asked about their sampling and methodology, and never responded to his follow-up inquiries.](https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/872/277/006/936/935/original/9d82dbd143c9b5be.png "Statistician David Marker recently opined in an interview with Jake Donoghue:
“This survey has not provided enough information to refute claims of it being low quality and spurious. [Morning Consult] hasn’t presented evidence to make you feel comfortable… with a survey which was funded by an organization which would like and benefit from these results.”
Marker then noted his concerns that there may have been a serious sampling flaw in Morning Consult’s survey that, if it exists, would invalidate the numbers entirely. Though Donoghue was able to discuss the survey with Morning Consult, they stopped responding when he asked about their sampling and methodology, and never responded to his follow-up inquiries.")
Regardless of the caricatures that have emerged, most cryptocurrency holders are pretty normal people, with nuanced political beliefs and hopes for the future that go far beyond the tokens they hold in their digital wallets.
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@molly0xfff and they are all going to want an FDIC-type bailout when it crashes and burns
sorry, cypto is a ponzi scheme and i don't want tax money going to bail them out for any reason
@molly0xfff I wouldn't describe myself as 'normal' ;) but do agree with the sentiment. I have been holding crypto for over a decade - but it doesn't define my political beliefs in any way and I won't align with a candidate because of their stance - either pro or con.
