Despite the dizzying price rise that Bitcoin (BTC) has experienced in recent months, even reaching several all-time highs throughout November, few bank clients in Spain express interest in cryptocurrencies.
This is stated in the study “New frontiers of banking digitalization: the emergence of artificial intelligence”, published this December 2 by Funcas, an analysis center dedicated to economic and social research.
The report includes the main conclusions of a survey applied to more than 2,000 people between 18 and 75 years old, who are part of the banked population with internet access from Spain.
According to the results, almost the 90% of banked people do not invest in cryptocurrencies and 60% are not willing to do so when banks begin to offer this service, after the entry into force of the Regulation for the Cryptoasset Market (known as the MiCA Law).
These are percentages that lead the Funcas team to conclude that cryptocurrencies “are far from being popular” in Spain.
“It is not as popular an asset as some say, only 6% of bank clients have it and 5% had it in the past,” said Pedro Jesús Cuadros, professor at CUNEF University and economist at Funcas, in a press conference.
“That is, despite fashion, fame, media noise or price increases, only 11% have been exposed to these assets,” said the expert. A situation that translates in about 4 million people.
He adds that when respondents were asked about the amounts they invest, the majority claimed to have made “small investments, with quick returns.” It is thus known that 18% of banking users who use cryptocurrencies invest more than 15% of their available capital, with BTC and ether (ETH) being the ones that capitalize the bulk of the market in Spain.
In that sense, and40% of investors say they have made profitscompared to 17% who report losses and another 31% who have not yet liquidated their positions. A result that Funcas relates to the fact that the market is in a bullish moment.
Most of Spain’s investors are in profits. Source: Funcas.
The study shows that 57% of users say they are aware of the risks of cryptoassets and that “unofficial” sources, such as influencers, “play a more relevant role than official ones” when seeking information about them. cryptocurrencies.
Little interest in MiCA
The investigation also determined that among users exists from “disinterest to indifference” regarding the MiCA Lawregulation that will allow banks in Spain and the rest of the European Union to start selling cryptocurrencies.
“Six out of ten are indifferent to MiCA,” said Cuadros. This, in a context where important Spanish banks, such as BBVA, Santander and Caixabank, they are ready to open the supply of bitcoins in 2025, while the Spanish authorities adapt their laws and enters a transition period.
The negative feeling about this opportunity exceeds the positive reception about this possibility. If we analyze whether the majority sentiment is positive or negative, the negative outweighs the positive. It seems that bank customers are not interested nor do they believe that it is a natural evolution.
Funcas.
In general, the results of the study coincide with those obtained in the Financial Competencies Survey, published by the Bank of Spain in November of last year.
As reported by CriptoNoticias, the data collected by this organization indicates that even though 84% of Spaniards have heard of bitcoin, only 5% have invested in cryptocurrencies.
It is worth noting that the Blockchain analysis company Chainalysis places Spain in position number 25 of its global Cryptocurrency adoption ranking by 2024, and in third place among Western European countries.
Crypto Keynote USA
For the Latest Crypto News, Follow ©KeynoteUSA on Twitter Or Google News.
