Public Perception of Virtual Assets and Tokenized Money

22 SURVEY FINDINGS PART I: VIRTUAL ASSETS IV. PUBLIC PERCEPTION AND UNDERSTANDING OF VIRTUAL ASSETS OVER TIME Three surveys, including the current one, were conducted between April 2023 and November 2024 to gauge public perception of virtual assets in Hong Kong.¹ By comparing the results of these surveys, some observations have been made about the behaviors and perceptions of virtual assets among the adult population in Hong Kong over time. Consistency in Awareness and Understanding of Virtual Assets The awareness of virtual assets among the Hong Kong adult population has remained consistently high since April 2023, with a significant majority of more than 83% respondents aware of virtual assets across the three surveys. There was a slight increase in awareness from the first survey (83.86%) to the second survey (87.29%), and the third survey showed a minor decrease to 86.54%. Overall, the differences are relatively small, with less than a 3.5 percentage point variation, indicating stable awareness of virtual assets over time. The population’s self-perceived understanding has also remained consistent, with over 40% of respondents indicating a limited understanding of virtual assets. The most recent survey, however, shows a slight increase in those who claim to have a good understanding of virtual assets, alongside a slight decline in those who admit to having no understanding at all. Despite these changes, to determine whether the population is genuinely becoming more knowledgeable about virtual assets will necessitate further observation over time. 1. The three surveys were conducted during the following periods: 1st survey – from April 24th to May 15th, 2023; 2nd survey – from September 28th to October 20th, 2023; 3rd survey – from November 5th to 26th, 2024. Figure 19. Changes in Awareness of Virtual Assets Figure 20. Changes in Self-perceived Understanding of Virtual Assets 0% 20% 70% 10% 60% 30% 80% 100% 40% 90% 50% 0% 20% 70% 10% 60% 30% 80% 100% 40% 90% 50% 1st survey 2nd survey 3rd survey Yes No 83.86% 87.29% 86.54% 16.14% 12.71% 13.46% Have you heard of virtual assets before? Fully understand To some extent Good understanding Not very well Not at all How well do you think you understand virtual assets? 1st survey 2nd survey 3rd survey 7.14% 20.53% 43.82% 26.06% 6.79% 21.63% 43.61% 25.36% 8.90% 20.45% 43.78% 24.68% 2.44% 2.60% 2.18%