Public Perception of Virtual Assets and Tokenized Money

13 I. AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING OF VIRTUAL ASSETS “Virtual assets” refers to digital representations of value, which may be in the form of digital tokens or any other virtual commodities, crypto assets, or other assets of essentially the same nature, including cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether, and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), but excluding Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) and other financial assets (stocks, bonds) or stored value facilities (e.g., Octopus). Based on this definition, a significant majority of the public is aware of virtual assets, with 86.54% acknowledging that they have heard of virtual assets, and only 13.46% indicating otherwise. However, only 2.18% believe they fully understand virtual assets, and 8.90% think they have a good understanding, reflecting a knowledge gap among the adult population regarding virtual assets. Figure 2. Awareness of Virtual Assets Figure 3. Self-perceived Understanding of Virtual Assets Have you heard of virtual assets before? How well do you think you understand virtual assets? Good understand 8.90% Not very well 43.78% Not at all 24.68% Yes 86.54% No 13.46% Fully understand 2.18% To some extent 20.45% Most respondents are familiar with at least one crypto exchange. Among those aware of virtual assets, 15.61% do not know any crypto exchanges. Interestingly, more than two-thirds of respondents who have never heard of virtual assets can recognize at least one crypto exchange. Binance, Coinbase, and Crypto.com are the most recognizable crypto exchanges, regardless of respondents’ awareness of virtual assets. Figure 4. Awareness of Crypto Exchanges All respondents Respondents aware of virtual assets Respondents not aware of virtual assets 0% 10% 60% 30% 80% 40% 90% 50% 100% 20% 70% Recognized at least one crypto exchange Did not recognize any crypto exchange 82.28% 17.72% 84.39% 15.61% 68.69% 31.31%