Week 10 is live — and with it, the conclusion of our 10-week data release. Across 25 countries, people are weighing whether bitcoin is a tool for financial freedom — or not.
We asked: What drives adoption? What holds it back? And what would it take to reach the next bitcoin users?
Key insights:
- Belief in Bitcoin’s financial freedom potential is highest in 🇳🇬 Nigeria, 🇻🇪 Venezuela, and 🇺🇦 Ukraine
- Intent to use bitcoin is strongest in 🇦🇪 UAE, 🇨🇳 China, 🇮🇳 India, and 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
- The top motivators to own bitcoin among non-owners are more money (42%), more knowledge (35%), and easier usability (32%)
- Education and accessibility appear to matter more than regulation or reputation
Bitcoin’s path forward isn’t guaranteed — it’s shaped by perception, practicality, and participation.
📙 Read Week 10 and download the full series of global findings here: https://www.cornellbitcoinclub.org/repository/week10
Week 9: Perceptions of Bitcoin (Part II)
In Week 8, we explored how people imagine bitcoin’s future. This week, we turn to the present: how do people actually see bitcoin today? Across 25 countries, the data shows a mix of hesitation, uncertainty, and opportunity.
Key findings:
- 30% say bitcoin is easy to buy or sell; most remain neutral on usability
- 25–30% agree bitcoin protects privacy or is prone to fraud
- 34% find bitcoin difficult to understand
Fewer than 20% feel they have the resources or knowledge to use it. Perceptions remain cautious — but not closed. Building trust, improving usability, and expanding education may prove just as important to adoption as price or policy.
📙 Read Week 9 here: https://www.cornellbitcoinclub.org/repository/week9
Week 8: Perceptions of Bitcoin (Part I)
Over the past 7 weeks, we’ve looked at bitcoin adoption through a past and present lens. Now, we turn to the future:
👉 How do respondents across 25 countries perceive bitcoin—and the likelihood of a Bitcoin standard?
Key findings:
- In 16/25 countries, a majority feel bitcoin is “replacing currencies”
- In 17/25, a majority think bitcoin could become the main form of payment
- In 16/25 countries, Stablecoins are viewed as more plausible than bitcoin for payments
- Skepticism is concentrated in stable, high-income countries, frequently linked to concerns about volatility.
📙 Read Week 8 here: https://www.cornellbitcoinclub.org/repository/week8
Week 7: Trust & Risk — How Bitcoin Stacks Up
Across 25 countries, trust in bitcoin averages 4.67/10, placing it below traditional assets such as gold and real estate.
🔸 In 10 countries, reported trust in bitcoin exceeds trust in government (including 🇧🇷 Brazil, 🇳🇬 Nigeria, 🇹🇷 Turkey, 🇺🇦 Ukraine).
🔸 Perceived risk remains high relative to most other assets, which may constrain broader adoption.
🔸 Responses to questions about fraud, privacy, and service providers were dominated by “neutral,” suggesting uncertainty rather than clear endorsement or rejection.
🔸 Higher reported financial stress often coincides with higher levels of bitcoin ownership and trust, though correlation does not imply causation.
Overall, bitcoin’s position is shaped less by uniform acceptance or rejection and more by patterns of uncertainty, comparative trust, and local economic context.
📙 Read Week 7 and download all charts here: https://www.cornellbitcoinclub.org/repository/week7
#Bitcoin #GlobalStudy #BitcoinResearch #FinancialInclusion
Bitcoin awareness across 25 countries in our study is 90%. Stablecoins? Just 34%.
And yet, stablecoins like USDT, USDC, and BUSD have become tools of survival, remittance, and savings.
This week, we compared bitcoin and stablecoins to understand:
- Who’s using them
- Why they matter
- What they don’t solve
Key findings:
- High stablecoin ownership in 🇻🇪 Venezuela, 🇳🇬 Nigeria, and 🇺🇦 Ukraine reflects economic instability and conflict
- The biggest motivators are avoiding volatility and accessing USD—the top 2 reasons globally
- But stablecoins inherit the weaknesses of both fiat and crypto: reliance on custodians, censorship risk, and fiat debasement.
Stablecoins may expand access to dollars in the short run. Bitcoin stands apart in the long run—decentralized, censorship-resistant, and sovereign.
📙 Read Week 6 here: https://www.cornellbitcoinclub.org/repository/week6
What’s really stopping people from adopting bitcoin?
“It’s for criminals.” “It’s bad for the environment.” “It’s too complicated.”
These are the reasons you might expect.
But after asking 25,000 people in 25 countries, the most common answers told a different story:
- For former owners: 42% sold to make a profit
- For those who never owned: 37% aren’t interested
- Other top barriers: security concerns and financial constraints (26% each)
- Environmental concerns? Just 5%.
- Better alternatives? 3%.
These findings suggest that adoption challenges are less about rejection—and more about opportunity.
- Lower friction where we can.
- Support solutions where people can’t act alone.
- Revisit barriers people think they can’t overcome.
Because inclusion starts with listening.
📙 Read Week 5 here: https://www.cornellbitcoinclub.org/repository/week5
Why do people choose Bitcoin?
Across 25 countries, we found that adoption is driven by more than just investment.
From personal freedom in 🇺🇦 Ukraine to inflation protection in 🇻🇪 Venezuela and cross-border payments in 🇮🇳 India, bitcoin use reflects unmet needs in traditional systems.
This week, we explore the why behind global Bitcoin adoption, and what it reveals about trust, access, and economic agency.
📙 Read Week 4: https://www.cornellbitcoinclub.org/repository/week4
I am not sure why it is no longer working - will work on fixing!
It should be all setup! (Or at least it was!) I will double check. Thank you so much!
For What—and How—Do People Use Bitcoin?
Is bitcoin being saved? Spent? Stored? All of the above?
In Week 3 of the Cornell Global Bitcoin Adoption study, we asked: What does it actually mean to “use” bitcoin?
Across 24 countries:
💰 Most allocate less than 25% of their savings to bitcoin
💸 1 in 3 owners transact with bitcoin weekly
🔐 Most don’t understand the difference between custodial and non-custodial wallets
What we found is that use varies by context. In some places, bitcoin is an investment. In others, it’s a lifeline. This isn’t just about transactions—it’s about beliefs, behaviors, and economic agency.
📙 Read Week 3 here: https://www.cornellbitcoinclub.org/repository/week3
Bitcoin may be for anyone, but, today, it’s not being adopted by everyone.
Across 25 countries, we asked a simple question: Who actually owns Bitcoin?
The answers reveal a clear—and uneven—pattern shaped by trust, identity, access, and need:
- ✅ Owners are more likely to be men, aged 30–44, working in the private sector
- 🇯🇵 In Japan, 88% have never owned Bitcoin
- 🇸🇻 In El Salvador, just 28% say the same
The numbers tell a powerful story.
Let’s unpack who’s in, and who’s still left out.
📙 https://www.cornellbitcoinclub.org/blog/week2
A majority of people say they’ve heard of bitcoin. Very few can explain it.
Awareness ≠ knowledge ≠ understanding. Bitcoin has a branding moat, not a knowledge base.
📌 85% (290M) of Americans say they’ve heard of bitcoin.
📌 38% (128M) of Americans feel knowledgeable about bitcoin.
📌 6% (20M) of Americans know there will only ever be 21 million.
Even in bitcoin-forward nations, its core property is nearly universally unknown - even among users.
This week, we explore the gap between awareness, knowledge, & understanding and why it matters.
📙 https://www.cornellbitcoinclub.org/blog/week1
📢 Over the next 10 weeks, we’re sharing findings from one of the most comprehensive global studies ever conducted on bitcoin and financial freedom supported by Human Rights Foundation (HRF) and The Reynolds Foundation.
✅ 25,000 people
🌍 25 countries
📊 250 interviews
1️⃣ question: What does bitcoin reveal about the state of trust, agency, and economic possibility in the world today?
For the first time in recent history, we’re watching a monetary system spread not by force but by choice.
Not through war.
Not through colonization.
Not through central banks or capital controls.
But through voluntary adoption, one phone, one wallet, one person at a time.
What does that mean for the future of money and freedom?
🔗 Read more: https://www.cornellbitcoinclub.org/blog/week0-setting-the-stage
#Bitcoin #BitcoinResearch #BitcoinAdoptionStudy #FinancialFreedom #LayerZero
⚡ Bitcoin as a Medium of Exchange: How Lightning Payments Are Changing the Game ⚡
Wednesday, we had the incredible opportunity to host @MiyaharaUmi (Cornell ‘08), Business Development Lead at nostr:npub1jugar2agq6369p0l86razavs9shj2p6pscxecevs8j94ap37hkqsjlfc28, at nostr:nprofile1qqsxct8hhdxej0w4hn44rc0y6nazwh0pvy36xdjp3ah2nggz3ueqe7gpzemhxue69uhhv6t5daezumn0wd68yvfwvdhk6qgjwaehxw309ac82unsd3jhqct89ejhxku9msg Club! Umi shared invaluable insights on how Bitcoin is evolving beyond a store of value into an everyday medium of exchange, powered by the Lightning Network.
Key Takeaways from Her Talk:
1. Bitcoin as a Medium of Exchange & Reserve of Value 2. How Lightning Network enables fast, low-cost Bitcoin transactions 3. B2B Bitcoin Payments—More businesses integrating Lightning 4. Real-world use cases (can be unique!): We tested Lightning payments by sending sats to a goat feeder live on camera—instantly rewarding happy goats with snacks! 🐐🐐
5. nostr:npub1jugar2agq6369p0l86razavs9shj2p6pscxecevs8j94ap37hkqsjlfc28's Open-Source SDK
Huge thanks to @MiyaharaUmi for sharing her expertise and inspiring our members to explore Bitcoin’s potential as a medium of exchange!
#Bitcoin #LightningNetwork #CornellBitcoinClub #Breez #BitcoinPayments
