While cryptocurrency companies are hopeful that government acceptance could buoy public sentiment for the controversial digital assets, new research reveals more than half of Brits would not support the Bank of England (BoE) in launching its own cryptocurrency linked to the pound.
A third of people said a government crackdown on rules for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin would make them "more likely" to invest, but 56 per cent said new rules would not be enough to make them change their minds, according to a fresh research from polling company D-cyfor.
The majority of people (60 per cent) said they would not support the BoE in introducing a cryptocurrency, and millennials were the only age group to say they would support such a measure with just over half backing the idea.
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Nearly everyone (93 per cent) has heard of bitcoin after its meteoric price rise late last year – and its subsequent drop in 2018. This is up two per cent from January 2018 and a 13 per cent increase from November 2017.
The percentage of people who were optimistic about bitcoin's price has remained the same from January this year at 39 per cent. A majority of people (61 per cent) think bitcoin's price will decrease in value over the next six months or will crash entirely and be worthless.
Top choices for people considering investing in another cryptocurrency were ethereum (20 per cent) bitcoin cash (14 per cent), Ripple (six per cent) and litecoin (five per cent), but half of respondents who have or are thinking of investing in bitcoin would not put money in another cryptocurrency.
Read more: UK bitcoin mining firm Bladetec heads to China to woo investors
