Crypto Poll: U.S. Voters More Serious About Demanding Candidates With Know-How

A poll funded by Grayscale provides the newest snapshot of voters’ crypto views, and it reflects an increase in prominence of digital assets as a political issue.

Also out Monday, Coinbase released an analysis of crypto voters, showing the block of voters who care a lot about digital assets could be more than enough to swing the presidential election outcome in several battleground states.

A new industry-funded poll underlines the rising role of crypto in the thinking of likely voters in the 2024 U.S. elections – and the mention of digital assets by the presidential candidates of both major parties suggests the campaigns are aware of that.

The latest look, conducted by Harris Poll and paid for by crypto firm Grayscale, shows a steady increase in voters saying they’re taking a candidate’s crypto knowledge and stance seriously when considering who to vote for. Of more than 1,800 likely voters, 77% said presidential candidates should be informed about innovative technology like artificial intelligence and crypto, and 56% said they’re more likely to vote for candidates who are staying on top of crypto as an issue (though their top issues remain inflation, national security and foreign policy).

The perception among those surveyed is that Republicans have a slight but growing edge over Democrats in being favorable for crypto investors.

Grayscale has fielded a few similar polls since last year, and over that period, a growing number of respondents – now 46% – agree with the concept that crypto and blockchain represent the “future of finance.”

An increasing share of the voters – ticking slowly up to 21%, or about one in five – hold some kind of cryptocurrency (usually bitcoin) as an investment, according to the poll. Over the series of three snapshots of voter sentiment, those who’ve purchased crypto are increasingly saying they’re doing so because a financial adviser recommended it – 27% of them in this latest poll, which is up seven percentage points from the previous one earlier this year.

But since the first poll in December, the number of voters aware of crypto has risen from a minority of 47% to a slight majority of 53%. About half of those responding said they’re waiting for regulations to kick in before they consider putting money into cryptocurrencies.

These insights into crypto voting arrive the day before the vice-presidential candidates are set to debate in New York, marking about five weeks remaining until the polls open on Nov. 5. While crypto has been especially prominent among Republican politicians – most notably former President Donald Trump and his sudden 2024 embrace of the industry – the Democrats have generally taken a more cautious approach. Vice President Kamala Harris made a brief mention of favoring crypto innovation but isn’t expected to go much deeper than that.