Did you know that a massive subset of the global population does not have a traditional bank account? An easy assumption to make would be that most of this population lives in low- and middle-income emerging markets. In reality, even in high GDP countries, a large number of people are being excluded from traditional financial services by a number of different barriers, including lack of trustable local banking infrastructure in remote areas, inability to maintain the minimum deposit required for an account, inability to provide valid ID to register as a customer – the list goes on. Without access to credit and savings, these unbanked people are unable to participate in the virtuous cycle of economic growth, or the security and accumulating interest that banks provide.
Premise has been paying its Contributors via Coinbase since 2016. Since then, more and more Contributors are electing to be paid in Bitcoin – we’ve paid over $1 million in Bitcoin to Contributors in 137 countries around the world.
This resulted in Premise running a global survey in order to properly understand how cryptocurrency is utilized globally. The study collected over 11,000 responses between August 30th to September 20th, 2021.
Here are the insights we gathered:
- 23% of our Contributor base has cashed out and received payment in Bitcoin on the Premise app.
Of the 23% of Contributors who were paid out in Bitcoin, 46% say they converted it to local currency.
- 41% say they held onto their Bitcoin.
- 13% say they used it as a medium of exchange with goods and services.
26% of survey respondents say they prefer using Bitcoin to their local currency.
Of those who have not cashed out in Bitcoin, 30% say it is because they do not know about cryptocurrency.
- 23% have not cashed out in Bitcoin because they prefer their local currency.
- 13% have not cashed out in Bitcoin because they do not trust it.
⅓ of global survey respondents perceive Bitcoin to be more secure than their local currency.
We can also get a granular view as to how specific countries react to crypto announcements. For example, on September 7, 2021, El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law granting the currency legal tender status went into effect. Remarkably, in just one month, there are now more Salvadorans with bitcoin wallets than traditional bank accounts. Bitcoin adoption is likely to continue to rise in El Salvador, and a sentiment we plan to monitor on these dashboards closely.
Companies in a wide range of industries, including retail, consumer packaged goods (CPG), travel, and quick-service restaurants (QSRs), work with Premise to create resourceful tasks that allow Contributors to earn Bitcoin by completing surveys.
- Contributors will earn a reward for each task they successfully complete.
- These tasks range from taking pictures of products on shelves in retail stores and identifying local landmarks, to filling out surveys.
- Contributors can then choose to be paid out via their preferred payment method, whether that’s Bitcoin through Coinbase or local currency through PayPal and other assorted mobile payment platforms.
- Once a Contributor has cashed out their earnings into their Coinbase wallet, they can convert them into altcoins, including Ethereum or Dogecoin.
Premise integrated Coinbase with our mobile app in 2016. We did this for multiple reasons. With Bitcoin being a universal payment method, it allows us to compensate Contributors in more parts of the world more quickly and with fewer complications. Additionally, as you can see in our study, Bitcoin is growing in popularity across the globe. More people are seeking alternatives to traditional currency, and the sheer volume of cryptocurrency continues to grow and evolve.
Finally, even though cashing out using Bitcoin is not available in all countries where Premise operates, we are committed to banking the unbanked. Not everyone has the documentation needed for a bank account. According to the most recent figures, 31% of all adults worldwide do not have a bank account. A primary value of Bitcoin is that it does not require a bank account. Thus, offering payment via Bitcoin allows us to expand our potential Contributor network by making it easier for more people to get paid for completing tasks.
The data points found in our survey can be further broken down by age, gender, geography, employment status, financial/living situation and education. These data points will serve as a benchmark as we actively track these findings every six months to understand the evolving perception of cryptocurrency globally.