Goldman Sachs Survey: Most Millennials Won't Use Bitcoin

A new survey published by Goldman Sachs has found that just over half of US millennials believe they will never use bitcoin.

Fifty-one percent of the 752 survey respondents said that they had never used bitcoin nor do they have any plans to do so. Twenty-two percent said they currently use it or have used it in the past, and intend to use it again.

An additional 22% said that they have never used bitcoin before but plan on using the digital currency. Just 5% of respondents said they have used bitcoin but do not intend to use it again.

The data forms part of a broader look at the financial inclinations of millennials, including how the demographic chooses financial services and how they manage money.

Among a group of payment options that included credit cards, Apple Pay and Square, bitcoin wallets scored relatively low in terms of trust. Less than 5% of respondents indicated they trust using wallet services, with Coinbase and BitPay being named directly in the survey data.

Few privacy concerns

Notably, a significant number of respondents displayed a general apathy toward financial privacy.

Goldman asked how willing millennials would be to "accept inconveniences" in exchange for reduced privacy and better security.

Thirty-four percent of male respondents and 48% of female respondents said that they were “not too bothered” as long as their service isn’t directly affected.

Twenty-two percent said that they are in favor of sacrificing privacy for the sake of security, whereas 20% of survey-takers replied that they weren’t willing to give up financial privacy.

Thirteen percent said that they are happy to accept loss of privacy for higher security, while 11% indicated that they didn’t care because they presume the government is already monitoring their transactions.

Respondents also expressed a high aversion to fees, with many suggesting that the costs would be a major influence in their choice of financial provider.

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