Australian Central Bank study: 80% of Australians know about crypto assets, 1% use them

According to research from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), in 2019, less than 1% of Australians paid forcryptocurrencies use consumer goods, but 80% have heard of crypto assets.

Biennial RBA Survey ResultsConsumer Payments (CPS) show that while consumers mostly prefer digital and alternative methods of paying cash, they rarely pay in cryptocurrencies. The country's Central Bank conducted a survey in October and November 2019, about 1,100 respondents took part in it.

Over 80% of respondents said they had heard ofcryptocurrencies. However, cryptocurrencies have become the least used alternative payment method, behind AliPay and WeChat Pay, PayID and Beem It banking services, as well as mobile payments in applications. Only 1% of respondents confirmed that they used cryptocurrencies to pay for consumer goods and services over the past year.

The study also showed that the ratio of user awareness and the rate of use of the payment method for cryptocurrencies is the worst compared to other payment methods.

“Although many respondents had heard of cryptocurrencies, only a few had used cryptoassets for consumer payments in the past year,” — says the RBA.

Similar polls have been conducted five times before, but cryptocurrencies first appeared in the list of alternative means of payment only in the 2019 survey.

RBA also found that using cashMoney in Australia declined in 2019, especially among people under 40 who paid in cash in just 15% of cases. The study showed that even older respondents stop using cash. However, this method remains popular among those over 65 years old.

Central Bank of Australia, like most of the worldfinancial regulators, monitors the development of the cryptocurrency industry. Earlier this year, the RBA announced that cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins issued by central banks, are unlikely to replace ordinary money.

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