One-Third of U.S. Voters Say They’ll Weigh Candidates’ Crypto Views Before Voting: Poll

One in three U.S. voters said they’ll consider a political candidate’s position on cryptocurrencies before making a voting decision, according to a new Harris Poll examination of likely U.S. voters.
While those 33% are taking a keen interest, the online survey of more than 1,700 people – funded by bitcoin ETF issuer Grayscale – found 77% said a U.S. presidential candidate should at least have an “informed perspective” on crypto. And they’re evenly split on which political party is the leader in digital assets issues.
The new polling followed up on a similar round of questioning late last year, concluding people are increasingly likely to believe that crypto will eventually wind up in their investment portfolios (47%), which could further explain their political interest.
“Likely American voters from across the political spectrum indicate a heightened interest in investing in crypto assets and in supporting candidates well-versed in the emerging technologies,” said Zach Pandl, Grayscale’s head of research, in a statement.
Read more: Trump Becomes First Major Party Candidate to Accept Crypto Donations
Almost everybody – all but 2% – had at least heard of bitcoin (BTC). A wide segment of voters claimed they’re also familiar with Ethereum’s ether (ETH), with less than half (46%) saying they’d never heard of it. About 17% of voters say they’ve invested in bitcoin, putting that asset nearly as high as those who say they have bonds, and significantly higher than those who invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
In a point that could be especially interesting to the firms winning preliminary approvals last week on their efforts to build ETH ETFs, 24% in the survey said this new option would make them more open to investing.
And 44% of the voters think to some degree that “crypto and blockchain technology are the future of finance” – up four percentage points from responses to the same question asked last year. But they want government oversight, with 52% of respondents saying they’d be more likely to put their money into digital assets if the field gets more regulation.
This latest poll showed a larger segment of the voting population keenly interested in candidates’ crypto views than another recent poll of swing-state voters, which had put that level at 21%.
Read More: Poll: Most People Cringe About Crypto, But Enough Care to Warrant Politicians’ Attention
Edited by Nick Baker.
Disclosure
Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.
Jesse Hamilton is CoinDesk’s deputy managing editor for global policy and regulation. He doesn’t hold any crypto.
Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.