U.S. Voters to Check Candidates’ Crypto Stance Before Voting

U.S. Voters’ interest in cryptocurrency is growing, with 77% of respondents believing a presidential contender should be knowledgeable about it.

According to a recent Harris Poll funded by bitcoin ETF issuer Grayscale, analysis of prospective U.S voters, one in three stated they would think about a political candidate’s stance on cryptocurrencies before casting a ballot.

Although 33% are very interested in cryptocurrency, 77% of respondents to an online survey of over 1,700 people sponsored by bitcoin ETF issuer Grayscale said that a presidential candidate from the United States should at the very least have an “informed perspective” on the industry. Regarding which political party leads in matters about digital assets, they are also evenly divided.

The latest survey builds on a similar round of inquiries conducted late last year, finding that respondents are more likely than not to believe that cryptocurrency will eventually find its way into their investment portfolios (47%), which may help to explain their political inclinations.

Zach Pandl, head of research at Grayscale, said that “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.”

Except for 2%, almost everyone had heard of Bitcoin (BTC). Fewer than half of U.S voters (46%) said they had never heard of Ethereum’s ether (ETH), despite many respondents claiming to be familiar with it. A little over 17% of voters report having invested in Bitcoin, placing it almost as high as those who report owning bonds and much higher than those who claim they have exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

A noteworthy finding from the study is that 24% of respondents stated this new choice would increase their openness to investing, which may be especially relevant to the companies that received preliminary authorization last week for their efforts to create Ethereum ETFs.

Furthermore, 44% of respondents, up 4% from the previous year’s replies to the same question, believe that “crypto and blockchain technology are the future of finance” to some extent. However, 52% of respondents indicated that they would be more willing to invest in digital assets if the industry were subject to greater regulation, indicating their desire for government monitoring.

This most recent survey revealed a higher percentage of voters than a previous survey of swing-state voters, estimated at 21%, to be sincerely interested in the candidates’ stance on cryptocurrency.