Research Finds PH Crypto Holders are 45 – 54 Yrs Old, Employed, and has a PhD or Master’s Degree

December 13, 2019 – A new research and publication sought out to understand the attitudes, behaviors, and experiences of financial consumers in Asia when it comes to cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs). Data is collected between February and March 2019. This article will focus on the research findings for the Philippines.

Background

The first part of the research discusses the current regulatory landscape in the countries where it was conducted – Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam. It recognizes the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as the main regulatory authorities for cryptoassets in the country. Companies that want to engage in crypto must secure a virtual currency exchange license from the BSP. The SEC, in the meantime, published its draft rules on initial coin offerings and cryptocurrency exchanges (called digital asset exchanges).

Additionally, through the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), a government-controlled corporation in charge of the Cagayan Economic Zone in Northern Philippines, can draft its own set of rules that applies to the economic zone as long as these rules don’t run contradictory with national regulations. For example, while the country only has draft rules on crypto exchanges, companies can secure a CEZA offshore cryptocurrency license if they want to set up crypto exchanges that can only serve residents outside the Philippines.

The research also said that $9.6 million was raised in the Philippines by ICOs in 2018.

Key Findings

The research uses a questionnaire to gather data on the attitudes, behaviors, and experiences of respondents on the subject of crypto assets. The survey uses an online sample of 1,000 respondents with hard quotas set on age and gender and soft quotas on income. The entire methodology is detailed in the research which can be found at the end of this article. Also check out this writer’s notes on the information found on the research.

Awareness and Ownership of Cryptoassets

Awareness of Cryptoassets and ICOs

74% of the respondents answered that they have heard of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. In comparison with the two other countries where the research was conducted, the country has a higher percentage of people who have heard of cryptocurrencies compared to that in Malaysia and Vietnam.

Surprisingly, more people are aware of Initial Coin Offerings vs cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrency ownership and ICOs

As mentioned, it was surprising to learn that more people are aware of ICOs versus cryptocurrencies. However, even with that data, more people still hold cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum vs ICO investments.

Demographics of Crypto holders and ICO investors

Philippines Crypto Demographics
Age	18 – 24 yrs old	19%
	25 – 34 yrs old	30%
	35 – 44 yrs old	33%
	45 – 54 yrs old	51%
	55+	17%
Gender	Women	30%
	Men	34%
Employment	Employed	39%
	Self-Employed	34%
	Not-Employed	18%
Education Level	PhD or Master’s	53%
	Bachelor’s	35%
	Secondary School	20%

We focus on the Philippines in this section and these are some fascinating facts: The crypto holder in the Philippines has an average age of 45-54 years old, employed, and has PhD or Master’s Degree. This is more pronounced in the “Demographics for ICO investors” table found below:

Philippines ICO Investor Demographics
Age	18 – 24 yrs old	7%
	25 – 34 yrs old	8%
	35 – 44 yrs old	13%
	45 – 54 yrs old	34%
	55+	5%
Gender	Women	11%
	Men	16%
Employment	Employed	19%
	Self-Employed	11%
	Not-Employed	4%
Education Level	PhD or Master’s	39%
	Bachelor’s	13%
	Secondary School	6%

Future Intention

In the question “Would you like to hold digital or cryptocurrencies in the future?” 53% in the Philippines said they would like to hold while 47% do not like to. This represents that currently, future intention when it comes to cryptocurrency holding in the Philippines is fairly divided.

When it comes to ICO investments however, only 25% said they would like to invest and a solid 75% said they don’t want to.

Reasons for Purchasing Cryptoassets

There are other parts of the research which we found interesting but let’s focus the last part of this article on the reasons the respondents purchase cryptoassets and participate in ICOs.

The respondents’ desire to know more about cryptocurrencies is the top reason in the Philippines on why they hold. This is in contrast with that of Malaysia and Vietnam, where the answer “to make money quickly” receives the highest number of responses.

Reasons for Investing in ICOs

Why Do You Invest in ICOs
	Philippines	Malaysia	Vietnam
To make money quickly	38%	38%	46%
To know more about ICOs	31%	31%	38%
I believe in the project making the offer	27%	27%	35%
To diversify my overall investment portfolio	23%	23%	35%
As a long term investment or retirement fund	31%	31%	23%
To support initiatives that build on blockchain technology	30%	30%	21%
Just for fun	14%	14%	9%
Fear of missing out	10%	10%	10%
To provide an inheritance	12%	12%	5%

For ICOs, well, most people are in to make money, followed by “to know more about ICOs” and as a “long term retirement fund”. Projects might as well be concerned that “I believe in the project” is not the highest ranking answer for this question.

In future articles, we look at other findings in the research which we can discuss more.

Notes the information found on the research

Just like all other researches, it depends on how controlled or not controlled it is when it comes to the selection of the respondents, the questions they answered, and the respondents’ truthfulness when answering them. The research noted that when the respondents are asked about cryptocurrencies, the only tokens mentioned are Bitcoin and Ethereum. Next, the research also highlights that there is a tendency for respondents to overstate or understate their answers to subjective questions. The writer finds the age median surprising as well as the fact that more people are aware of ICOs vs crypto. This can only suggest that it’s still a long way to go before everyone will have the correct knowledge regarding cryptocurrencies and ICOs. The research did indeed suggest ways on how to do financial awareness campaigns and develop targeted financial education that seeks to promote cryptoassets knowledge.

This article is published on BitPinas: Research Finds PH Crypto Holders are 45 – 54 Yrs Old, Employed, and has a PhD or Master’s Degree

Research: OECD (2019), Cryptoassets in Asia. Consumer attitudes, behaviours and experiences. Access here.

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