Deutsche Bank Says Consumers are ‘More Positive on Crypto’

Consumers have become “more positive on crypto in Q1 2024,” according to a recent survey from German investment bank Deutsche Bank.

During this period, spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved while the general cryptomarket was trending upwards. This has resulted in 40% of respondents expecting Bitcoin to thrive in the coming years and less than 1% thinking crypto is a fad, the report said.

On the flip side, more than 50% of people expect another major crypto collapse by 2026 and 38% believe Bitcoin will “disappear” in the coming years. This comes after the extremely public collapse of cryptocurrency Terra as well as the implosion of crypto exchange FTX.

Despite Bitcoin recently hitting its all-time high, one-third of clients surveyed by Deutsche Bank believe that Bitcoin’s price will be below $20,000 come the end of the year. While 10% expect Bitcoin to exceed $75,000 in the same time frame—a 8.7% increase from the time of writing.

A large part of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) war against crypto has been fought over defining it as an asset class—and therefore establishing some regulatory jurisdiction. Gary Gensler, chair of the SEC, has called cryptocurrencies “highly speculative” while SEC official Bill Himan infamously claimed Ethereum isn’t a security.

And for what it’s worth, Deutsche Bank clients seem undecided as well. Sixty-five percent of respondents to the survey think of crypto assets as a replacement for cash, 78% see them as a form of commodity, and 74% believe it’s a store of value similar to gold (which is not a security).

It is highly unlikely that consumer attitudes shape the SEC’s rulings on asset class definitions. However, it’s interesting to note the understanding of consumers who have just had the door to crypto opened through spot ETFs.

This is compounded by the fact that the March Survey found that two-thirds of consumers have “no understanding” or “minimal understanding” of cryptocurrencies. Putting education at the forefront of importance for the crypto industry.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.