80% of South Koreans Consider Crypto a Form of Gambling, Survey Finds

A South Korean survey has found that 80% of citizens think crypto is a form of “gambling,” while many expressed fears about the dangers of rug-pulls and token price manipulation.

The survey was conducted by the newspaper Segye Ilbo, in conjunction with the research firm Embrain.

The survey saw 1,000 people nationwide quizzed on crypto-related matters from August 3 to August 8.

Over half (53.2%) of the respondents who said they thought crypto investment was equatable with gambling said that they felt this way because real-world assets do not underpin most tokens.

Around one in five said they were wary of rug-pulls, while 16% cited “concerns about price manipulation.”

And 5% said they were worried that coins were subject to “weak regulation by financial authorities.”

Only just under 2% said they were afraid of hacking-related risks.

The firms reported that 370 of the respondents said they had experience trading crypto, with only 20% of that number reporting losses.

But despite this apparent familiarity with crypto, under 6% of the respondents who invested in crypto said they “understood” blockchain technology “well.”

Over half of the investors said they had “some understanding” of the technology underpinning crypto.

And over 3% said they had bought crypto “with no knowledge at all” about blockchain technology.

South Korea is seeking to compel high-ranking public officials to disclose their virtual asset holdings and the history of their transactions, along with the conventional properties and assets they are already forced to report.https://t.co/HPqvGjoEoy

— The Korea Herald 코리아헤럴드 (@TheKoreaHerald) September 4, 2023

South Korean Crypto Investors: 1 in 5 Expect BTC Prices to Rise in 2024

A massive 76% of respondents said they thought it was “inappropriate” for public officials to invest in crypto, a reflection of the ongoing Coin Gate scandal.

Confidence has also likely been shaken by a series of domestic price manipulation controversies.

The data also shows that in South Korea, crypto remains a male-dominated sector.

More than half of the men in their 20s and 30s interviewed said they had traded crypto.

The Korea Times – Seoul: North Korean hackers stole $1.2B in virtual assets in cryptocurrency and other virtual assets in the past five years, more than half of it this year alone, South Korea says. https://t.co/AnW7UYF0Ly

— Lord (David) Alton (@DavidAltonHL) December 22, 2022

And while one in five said they bought crypto as part of their long-term investment portfolios, six in 10 said they bought coins “for fun,” or in a bid to make “short-term profits.”

Respondents were also asked about their predictions for next year’s Bitcoin markets.

Most predicted stagnant prices in 2024, but 21.3% said they expected an increase.