Despite partisan posturing in the halls of Congress, a greater portion of Democratic voters in the United States own cryptocurrency than Republicans, according to a new poll released by investment firm Paradigm on March 14. Neither party can be trusted to handle crypto correctly, those voters said.
A total of 19% of registered U.S. voters own crypto, Paradigm found. Among them were 19% of Democrats, 18% of Republicans and 24% of independents. Only 7% of voters own more than $1,000 in crypto, compared with 32% who own stocks. Nonetheless, Paradigm notes:
“A fifth of the country is not a niche subgroup.”
Former U.S. President Donald Trump enjoys a healthy lead among crypto-owning voters, with 48% support, compared with 39% for current U.S. President Joe Biden. The remaining 13% were undecided. That is a significant shift since the last presidential election, in which 43% of crypto-owners voted for Biden and 39% for Trump. The pollsters concluded:
“This data collectively shows that crypto owners are themselves a swing vote demographic, one that could be decisive if the election is yet another razor-thin race.”
Still, 49% of all voters, and 45% of members of both parties, say they do not trust either party on crypto.
Overall, men ages 18 to 54 have the highest rate of ownership, at 40%. Crypto ownership is higher than average among African Americans and Hispanics, with 33% and 32%, respectively, trading or using cryptocurrency in 2024, up from 20% and 22% last year.
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Since the Securities and Exchange Commission approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds on Jan. 10, 6% of U.S. voters have invested in them, and another 6% plan to, the poll found. Another 22% are considering investing in them.
After Republican pro-crypto candidates Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out of the primary race, only independent Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Democrat Dean Phillips were left to advocate for crypto, but neither are seen as viable candidates.
Trump said he was “not a fan” of crypto during his administration, and continued to speak unfavorably of it after leaving office. Since then, he has made millions on the sale of nonfungible tokens, however.
Trump noticed that many pairs of his branded sneakers were paid for with crypto. He said crypto has “taken [on] its own life” in an interview on March 11 that was widely seen as a shift in his position. Observers remain skeptical of Trump’s allegiance, however.
The poll was conducted between Feb. 28 and March 4 with 1,000 respondents. It has a margin of error of 3.5%.
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