Cryptocurrency began partly as a response to the missteps and abuses of banks during the 2008 financial crisis, but although it has been around for nearly two decades and attracted widespread attention, the public has remained unconvinced on this point and still prefers the traditional financial system for financial access, according to a new poll commissioned by CoinDesk.
When asked which they trusted more between banks and crypto when it came to financial inclusion, 65% of respondents in an online survey said banks and only 5% favored crypto. Although just over half (52%) agree the movement is more than a passing fad, 60% believe crypto will be a mostly negative force in the economy.
This is according to a thousand randomly selected American voters surveyed last week by the research company Public Opinion Strategies. The survey aims to provide insight into public opinion as issues of cryptography and artificial intelligence make their way through Congress, federal regulators and political campaigns leading up to this year’s congressional midterm elections.
This article is part of a CoinDesk series on voter opinions for the 2026 midterm elections.
The sentiment that banks are safer than crypto comes at a delicate time for the industry, as its lobbyists battle with the banking industry over the crypto industry’s biggest policy hope: the Senate’s Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. Banks have argued that stablecoin rewards could directly compete with their own interest-bearing deposit accounts and threaten a migration that could choke off U.S. lending. Their arguments have blocked passage of the Clarity Act for months so far, although the latest signs suggest the bill could begin moving forward again in the coming days.
Despite some public distrust, crypto has come a long way in a short time to insert itself into the financial life and culture of the United States. About one in four people say they have invested in crypto (27%), although most of them did so at least a few years ago and only 2% say they hold more than $10,000 in digital assets.
The information the public consumes about the industry does not appear to be helping to improve their opinion, with more than half (53%) having a less favorable impression of the industry in recent media coverage. When thinking about crypto, those who love it most gravitate toward the concept of its profitability while those who distrust it focus on the scams associated with the industry.
About 46% of people have nothing to do with crypto and say they don’t want to, but that leaves 27% who haven’t yet invested and say they’re likely to be open to it. Negative opinions are more likely to be shared by people aged over 45, with a sharp increase in distrust as they age. According to the data, men, Republicans, and minority groups share the most consistent affinity for crypto.
The question of AI
Like cryptography, AI also attracts a lot of distrust from older respondents, although opinions among younger people are quite mixed.
Overall, 55% believe the risks of AI technology outweigh its benefits. But young people, men and Republicans, are all slightly more likely to support advancements, as is the case for digital assets. And crypto owners are also much more likely to support the benefits of AI, with 64% saying pursuing it is worth the risks.
As U.S. businesses have embraced the use of AI in nearly every aspect of their businesses, new data on public perceptions reveals the negative perception gap that emerging technologies may need to overcome to gain mainstream acceptance. The crypto industry has pinned its hopes on its eventual inclusion in the US financial regulatory system to grant it greater acceptance and further reassure holdouts who worry about its oversight. But that process depends on a sharply divided Congress and the quiet timetable of federal regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Still, top regulators appointed by crypto-friendly President Donald Trump have pledged to move as quickly as possible to bring digital assets into the mainstream. And key senators suggested the Clarity Act would finally get the hearing it needs in May, potentially keeping it viable for passage in 2026.
CoinDesk will release data from this survey on Tuesday at Consensus Miami.
