Since Facebook announced the white paper for its crypto project, Libra, it’s fallen under intense criticism from regulators and the public alike. Many regulators would like to put Libra to the sword due to the social media company’s checkered past with privacy and customer data. And according to a recent survey, it seems most Americans don’t fancy the idea either.
Facebook and Libra: A Bad Reputation Across Board
On July 22, 2019, customer intelligence and research platform Civic Science published a survey indicating that a significant portion of Americans have issues trusting Libra. The company’s survey covered 1,799 adults in the United States, and the results weren’t encouraging for the emerging digital currency.
The poll revealed that only 5 percent of the respondents were remotely interested in the proposed digital asset and its accompanying wallet.
Thirty percent of those who did indicate interest in Libra were within the 18-to-24-year-old range, being both familiar with Facebook and having had experience with mobile payment processing.
The outlook for Bitcoin was slightly better. Citing a July survey in which about 2,100 American adults were asked about Bitcoin and other crypto assets, the report indicated that 79 percent of respondents claimed that they had heard of and were aware of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. However, only about 6 percent admitted to having crypto investments.
The survey reiterated a problem that Libra has not been able to successfully shake off: Facebook’s dismal record with data issues. In this category, Bitcoin maintained its edge over Libra. About 40 percent of respondents trusted Libra less than they did Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
“Only 2% [of respondents] trusted it more, while close to 20% felt they trusted Libra
