It's hard to avoid the latest headlines proclaiming that Bitcoin has lost half of its value since reaching its record high just two months ago. News like that can easily raise an investor's blood pressure several points -- or force them to put their money into a simple savings account. Yet despite such volatility in the fast-evolving world of blockchain and cryptocurrency, a new survey from crypto trading platform Voyager Digital announced late last week that two-thirds of the more-than 6,000 Americans it surveyed are bullish on cryptocurrencies. Those Americans believe that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, altcoins, stablecoins and the like will be widely accepted as forms of payment within the next five years. 

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American consumers are gaining confidence in crypto as it becomes more mainstream and grows in utility, Voyager Digital stated in its press release. About 64% of Americans surveyed, for example, believe that crypto will gain value in 2022, with 61% saying that they're likely to purchase some form of cryptocurrency this year. 

"I think consumers look at it as a long-term investment and that there's going to be an evolution of technology that's built on blockchain," said Voyager Digital CEO Stephen Ehrlich in an interview with ZDNet. "I think a lot of the protocols, a lot of the coins and blockchain are the next version of the technology evolution -- not revolution -- but evolution."

Voyager Digital's Crypto Confidence Survey is its first. It was commissioned by Voyager and fielded by global data intelligence firm Savanta between December 10 and 20, 2021. Savanta surveyed a total of 6,103 people, which consisted of a Census-representative sample of 1,006 Americans ages 18 and older, plus an oversample to reach 996 current cryptocurrency owners and 4,325 current customers of Voyager, according to the press release.

Among the key takeaways from the survey is that women are the most receptive to owning cryptocurrency. Of the two-thirds surveyed who believe crypto's acceptance will be widespread within the next five years, more than half are women (53%) compared to 44% who are men. And of the 61% surveyed who say it's likely they'll purchase crypto this year, women are slightly more likely than men to buy crypto at 62% and 60%, respectively. 

Ironically, the survey findings suggest that American men are twice as likely as women to currently own crypto, according to the survey.

From a generational standpoint, the survey indicated that, contrary to popular belief, the number of Gen X-ers and Boomers that are interested and want to participate in cryptocurrency continues to grow. Of the 61% who said they're bullish to buy crypto in 2022, the majority of Gen Xers (62%) and almost a third of Boomers (32%) said they'd buy crypto this year. 

"Everyone thinks of [crypto] as a Millennial/Gen Z opportunity, and those are the ones that are going to get it. But Gen X and Boomers are saying they want to participate," Ehrlich said. 

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Another key finding Ehrlich notes is that Millennial and Gen Z respondents are more apt to invest in cryptocurrency than in mutual funds or exchange-traded funds. "I think a lot of that goes back to the financial crisis in 2008," he said, suggesting that younger generations -- who experienced the breakdown in the financial markets as a result of the Great Recession -- see cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance as a means of taking greater control of their finances. 

"They're like, 'Hey, long term I know this technology is going to be replacing and evolving and I want to take more control because I think this decentralized aspect is going to help me create wealth so I can be able to buy my first house,'" Ehrlich said. 

According to the survey, of the 43% of Americans surveyed who believe cryptocurrency is the future of money, the majority are Millennials at 59%, followed by Gen X-ers at 46%, and Gen Zs at 41%.

The Millennial generation is a significant driving force in the adoption of cryptocurrency, the survey suggests, revealing the following about Millennials' attitudes toward investing in cryptocurrencies: