CoinDesk and MarketWatch Survey Reveals Crypto Community Remains Optimistic Despite Low Market, while Mainstream Public Remains Skeptical

New York, NY, Nov. 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CoinDesk, the world’s leading digital media company focused on crypto assets and blockchain, has collaborated with MarketWatch, the leading digital financial news and market data company, to conduct a sentiment survey to better understand different consumer perceptions of the cryptocurrency industry. Both CoinDesk and MarketWatch ran identical surveys for their respective readers, touching on topics such as institutional participation in the cryptocurrency market, the trustworthiness of the bitcoin blockchain, and the riskiness of bitcoin as an investment. The surveys, sponsored by Zion Trades, were conducted late summer of 2018 and received over 1600 responses from each outlet. 

The survey results highlight two major opposing viewpoints of the cryptocurrency industry, which could ultimately have an impact on the industry’s growth. Please find below some key takeaways of the results:  

-48% of CoinDesk respondents believe large institutional participants will enter the cryptocurrency market in one year, while 37% of MarketWatch respondents believe they will never enter;

-81% of CoinDesk respondents said they trust the bitcoin blockchain over record keeping protocols and cybersecurity at large banks, while 58% of MarketWatch respondents felt more comfortable with the traditional protocols;

-60% of CoinDesk respondents considered bitcoin’s price undervalued, while 74% of MarketWatch respondents considered it overvalued.

CoinDesk Director of Research Nolan Bauerle said: “We are proud to work with MarketWatch to dive into this comparison between each of our audiences. The data captures that CoinDesk’s audience is bullish on cryptocurrencies, while MarketWatch’s audience is bearish. It’s clear that these findings reveal widely different visions of crypto’s future. However, it’s interesting to note that despite the slow market growth of 2018, cryptocurrency enthusiasts remain highly optimistic in terms of institutional investment and the overall growth of the industry.”  

Respondents did have some areas of agreement. Both CoinDesk and MarketWatch respondents believe regulation will be the biggest obstacle to cryptocurrency growth and adoption, and neither group is interested in government-backed cryptocurrencies. 

MarketWatch General Manager Dan Shar said: “MarketWatch readers are some of the savviest investors in the world. They understand the power of both traditional investing and the importance of emerging technologies like blockchain, which powers cryptocurrencies. MarketWatch was one of the first digital publications to offer real-time stock market news and analysis and we were an early adopter of tracking cryptocurrency. Our collaboration with CoinDesk is another example of our leading position on emerging trends in finance.”

“The study demonstrates the confidence gap between traditional and cryptocurrency investors,” said Brian Sewell, founder of Zion Trades, a cryptocurrency trading platform and the study’s sponsor. “But I believe a clear breakthrough in cryptocurrency — whether in scalability, U.S. regulation, or the ease of conducting a transaction — could compel more retail and institutional investors to view this innovation as an emerging asset class and a transformative way to do business.” 

The entire survey results can be seen here: https://www.coindesk.com/research/crypto-sentiment-study-2018

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CoinDesk Director of Research Nolan Bauerle, Customer Intelligence Director at Dow Jones Media Group Andrew Neary, and Zion Trades Founder Brian Sewell are available for interview.

About CoinDesk:
CoinDesk is the leading digital media, events and information services company for the crypto asset and blockchain technology community. Its mandate is to inform, educate and connect the global community as the authoritative daily news provider dedicated to chronicling the space. CoinDesk hosts its annual Consensus summit, the largest blockchain technology gathering in the world, and now, Consensus: Invest, an event designed to showcase the new asset class to wealth managers across the globe. CoinDesk also publishes The State of Blockchain, the ultimate, must-read analysis on the growth in this emerging new technology, every quarter. 

About MarketWatch:
MarketWatch blends real-time stock market news with global business insights to deliver purposeful information to a diverse crowd at lightning fast speeds. The brand is a must-read for investors keen to gain an edge, while being both entertained and informed on broader topics as they relate to the world of finance. The site boasts a broad ranging audience in the 18 - 34 and 35 - 50 demographic. MarketWatch reaches over 3.1 million affluent adults according to 2018 Fall IPSOS affluent study and in Spring 2018 IPSOS reported the average income of site visitors at $184,000. MarketWatch is a digital flagship title and sister publication to Barron's, the world's premier markets magazine, both housed under Dow Jones Media Group, an innovative publishing group within Dow Jones, owned by News Corp (Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV). 

About Zion Trades:
Zion Trades is a customer-oriented online trading platform, enabling experts and beginners to buy and sell a variety of cryptocurrency and altcoins, including bitcoin and ethereum. The firm seeks to provide prompt onboarding to qualified applicants, timely trade execution, and high quality, account-specific customer support via live chat, phone, and email. Zion Trades also publishes Cryptocurrency Market, a blog leveraging the views of independent experts to analyze key trends in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Zion Trades is affiliated with Rockwell Capital Management, LLC.