A recent staff analytical note from Canada’s central bank points to increased bitcoin knowledge and utilization across the country.
This month, the Bank of Canada, the country's central bank, released a staff analytical note[1] analyzing the results of a survey it conducted to assess the Canadian population's general awareness of bitcoin. The survey took place in three separate waves (or installments), the most recent in 2017. That wave had a sample size of 2,623.
According to the analytical note, awareness of bitcoin rose from 64 percent toward the end of 2016 to 85 percent near the end of 2017. In general, Canadians earning at least $70,000 annually were the most aware – 92 percent of individuals in this income group had heard of bitcoin.
The note also commented on Canadians' fundamental knowledge of bitcoin. Similar true-or-false statements were used in each wave of the survey, but some of them were adjusted for clarity in 2017:
Bitcoin Knowledge QuestionsSource[2]
The bank found that, overall, respondents scored higher on the quiz in 2017 versus 2016. For example, 78 percent of bitcoin owners in 2017 correctly answered the fourth statement – related to government backing of bitcoin – as opposed to 37 percent in 2016. (The note implies that owners' scores improved because the statements on the updated quiz were clearer.)
Additionally, the bank discovered increased bitcoin ownership in Canada, rising from 2.9 percent in 2016 to 5 percent in 2017. The note suggests the increase comes from newly aware bitcoin users, as ownership rates were relatively similar between 2016 and 2017 among those already aware of the cryptocurrency.
Considering demographics, ownership among men almost doubled (from 4.2 percent to 8.1 percent). However, among women, it remained around 2 percent. This shift in ownership has ultimately widened the gender
