Study Finds Irish Crypto Userbase to Have Quadrupled in Four Years

Research has indicated that Irish attitudes regarding cryptocurrency are increasingly positive, with the Irish cryptocurrency user base estimated to have quadrupled in last four years.

Also Read: Ireland Clarifies Taxation of Crypto Transactions

Study Finds Irish Crypto Sentiment to be Moving “From Suspicion to Curiosity”

A study carried out by Amárach Research in partnership with communications firm Red Flag has found Irish citizens to be viewing cryptocurrencies in an increasingly favorable light. The survey queried 1,000 Irish citizens aged over 16 years, and claims to be “the first in a series” of polls examining Irish engagement with financial innovations.

The research estimates that 120,000 Irish citizens currently own cryptocurrency, a 300% increase in four years. In total, the study estimates that 180,000 Irish citizens have at some point owned BTC.

General awareness of cryptocurrency appears to have substantially increased following the significant media coverage of last year’s bull run, with 85% of respondents indicating that they were familiar with bitcoin – up from less than half of Irish adults in 2014 as was found in a separate study conducted by Amárach.

Millennials are Three Times More Likely to Own Cryptocurrencies

Unsurprisingly, millennials were found to be the demographic most likely to engage with cryptocurrency, with 25 – 34 year olds estimated to be three times more likely to own crypto assets than the average person.

Despite the significant uptick in Irish crypto user adoption, Gerard O’Neill, the chairman of Amárach, stated that “Cryptocurrency advocates still have a long way to go in driving higher adoption in Ireland.”

Deirdre Grant, managing director of Red Flag Ireland, concluded that “This is a fast-growing sector in Ireland, particularly among young men. But, the level of understanding is still quite low, with one in eight respondents believing [cryptocurrencies] are used mainly by criminals.”

Irish Regulators Provide Tax Guidance for Crypto Users

Last month, Ireland’s Revenue Commissioners published a manual seeking to provide clarity regarding the tax obligations of the nation’s cryptocurrency users.

The document asserted that businesses and individuals transacting in cryptocurrency will be taxed according to existing regulations, with gains and losses on cryptocurrency trades accruing capital gains tax for individuals and corporate tax on chargeable gains for companies.

Do you think that cryptocurrency is a topic that most people are now familiar with? Join the discussion in the comments section below!

Images courtesy of Shutterstock

At Bitcoin.com there’s a bunch of free helpful services. For instance, have you seen our Tools page? You can even lookup the exchange rate for a transaction in the past. Or calculate the value of your current holdings. Or create a paper wallet. And much more.