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‘I Wish I’d Invested In Cryptocurrency,’ Say 38 Percent Of South Africans

Wilma Woo | Jul 12, 2018 | 18:00

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38 percent of South Africans “wish they had invested” in cryptocurrency as businesses report “decent” interest in the emerging technology from corporate investors.

40 Percent of South Africans ‘Aware’ of Crypto

Results of pan-African investment bank Old Mutual’s 2018 “Savings & Investment Monitor,” released this week, reveal attitudes to Bitcoin locally are swiftly transforming.

Overall awareness of cryptocurrency has hit 40 percent of South African respondents, with whom the bank held face-to-face interviews in April and May this year.  Over half believed it was “possible to make a large amount of money by investing,” local news media outlet Business Tech reports — while the proportion considering cryptocurrency to be “bad news” was just 43 percent.

The increase in perception and trust in crypto assets comes despite the global downturn in prices throughout 2018. As Bitcoinist recently reported, sentiment elsewhere also continues to improve despite lower prices and frequent media bashing accompanying fresh volatility.

In South Africa, statistics reveal online interest — the country continuing to rank highest in Google search terms related to cryptocurrency.

‘Decent Interest’

Echoing findings by researchers at Grayscale Investments and cryptocurrency exchange Huobi in recent weeks, South African finance operators continue to signal bullish views on Bitcoin.

“We are seeing a lot more engagement from international institutions like banks and international exchanges looking to regulate cryptocurrencies, as I suspect they want it to be a legitimate asset class in the future,” Barry Dumas, a trading specialist at Purple Group told Business Live.

Purple is a local operator that opted to offer cryptocurrency options to clients via its GT247.com platform in March. Now, Dumas says client interest, in particular from the retail sector, has continued. He adds: 

We are seeing a decent spread between the bulls and bears but the bitcoin bias in the market is still to be long.

Cryptocurrency remains at an uncertain legal crossroads. Lawmakers in May opted not to recognize it while reportedly still considering future regulatory steps. 

What do you think about South Africans’ perception of cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments below! 

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.