UAE leads the global interest in trust in cryptocurrencies, says YouGov report

Data from YouGov’s “The Future of Financial Services Report” shows two-thirds of UAE adults are interested in cryptocurrency, with young adults showing the most interest. Compared to the UAE, numbers are much smaller in western markets like the UK, France and Italy where laws governing virtual assets are not defined.

YouGov has released the findings of its latest “The Future of Financial Services Report” that uses deep-dive custom research and data from YouGov’s profiles to explore the current global financial landscape, and identify the global adoption of, and trust in, new and emerging financial services across 18 international markets.

With the UAE government’s constant efforts to promote digital finance and encourage crypto trading, data from the report shows interest in this digital asset is high and two thirds of UAE residents (67 percent) say they are interested in investing into cryptocurrencies within the next five years. Of these, young respondents between 25-34 years (74 percent) are most likely to say they are interested in cryptocurrencies as compared to older adults aged 45+.

Data from the whitepaper suggests that interest to invest in cryptocurrency is high both in long as well as short term. One in five consumers in the UAE (21 percent) said they intend to trade in cryptocurrencies in the next 12 months, third highest proportion across the surveyed markets, after Indonesia (25 percent) and India (22 percent).

When it comes to trust in this digital asset, our research shows UAE is one of the top markets globally where consumers say they trust cryptocurrencies (40 percent). The UAE government’s recent enactment of the country’s first law governing virtual assets may have played a role in installing deeper trust among people in this asset class.

Compared to the UAE, numbers are much smaller in western markets like the UK (6 percent), France (9 percent) and Italy (11 percent), where laws governing virtual assets are not defined.

Although trust in cryptocurrency in high there are concerns about digital finances, some more prevalent among respondents who intend to trade in cryptocurrencies.

While risk from hackers is the biggest concern about dealing in digital financial services, it is more concerning to those who intend to invest in crypto in the next 12 months as compared to all respondents (51 percent vs 43). The same is true for worries about not being able to access money without internet connection (50 percent vs 37), identity theft (45 percent vs 37) and lesser fraud protection (39 percent vs 32), all of which are more pronounced among those interested in crypto trading.

Government regulation and lack of knowledge are some other barriers surrounding digital finances.

These concerns highlight the need for cryptocurrency providers to address these challenges in order to strengthen trust and expand the market.