Would Americans rather own a bitcoin or gold bar? [Reality checks ft. Sandy Kaul]

The latest episode of Reality checks with Brian Reitz features Sandy Kaul, Senior Vice President and Head of Innovation at Franklin Templeton. Sandy oversees the investment firm’s Innovation Research, Strategies & Technologies (FIRST) group, and her survey explores consumer understanding and adoption of cryptocurrency.

“We really are all in on this space and see it as the future of the financial market industry and think that eventually all investment products are going to be traded on blockchain rails and be sitting in wallets," said Kaul

The survey

To uncover the reality, Franklin Templeton and the YouGov team collaborated on a 5-question survey:

• Which of the following best describes your current knowledge as an investor?
• A common investment mentality is the 60/40 split, where 60% of your portfolio is stocks and 40% is bonds. In 10 years, how much do you think the average investor’s portfolio will contain cryptocurrency (e.g. bitcoin, ethereum, etc.)?
• How many explanations of cryptocurrency did you have to receive before you felt comfortable explaining how it works?
• As of June 24, 2025, one bitcoin is worth approximately $107,000, while a 1kg gold bar is also worth about $107,000. If you were given the choice today, which would you prefer to own?
• Would you rather own a bitcoin or a gold bar in 10 years?
  

Most Americans don’t consider themselves knowledgeable investors

Based on YouGov’s survey with Franklin Templeton, a significant portion of the U.S. general population lacks confidence in their investment knowledge.

Just over a third of Americans (36%) consider themselves knowledgeable, with 6% of Americans selecting "very knowledgeable" and 30% "somewhat knowledgeable" about investments.

Nearly two-thirds of the population (64%) report being either "not very knowledgeable" or "not at all knowledgeable" when it comes to investment matters.

Who really understands cryptocurrency?

Despite its increased valuation and adoption over the last decade, 43% of U.S. adults say they have never had cryptocurrency explained to them, with this figure rising to 51% among Baby Boomers.

Cryptocurrency knowledge shows a clear generational trend, with younger generations more likely to understand and explain the topic. Gen Z leads with 36% able to explain cryptocurrency, followed by Millennials at 29%, Gen X at 23%, and Baby Boomers at 17%.

More than half of U.S. consumers who have learned about cryptocurrency can’t explain it

Even among the Americans who have learned about cryptocurrency, comprehension poses a challenge.

More than half of Americans who have been explained crypto don’t feel comfortable explaining it themselves (54%).

The survey finds that among the 25% of Americans who say they can explain how cryptocurrency works, multiple explanations are often necessary for grasping the concept. The majority of those who can explain cryptocurrency (62%) required three or more explanations themselves before reaching this level of understanding.

This data suggests a clear opportunity for more accessible and repeated education on cryptocurrency across all age groups, but particularly with older generations.

Share of portfolio expected to be crypto in 10 years

YouGov’s survey with Franklin Templeton uncovered gender differences in long-term attitudes toward cryptocurrency.

While men are more likely to anticipate cryptocurrency becoming a standard part of  investment portfolios over the next decade (66% of men vs. 53% of women), women foresee allocating a larger portion of their portfolios to it.

The data also highlights a significant level of uncertainty among respondents, with 25% of men and 39% of women indicating they are "not sure" about future cryptocurrency allocations.

These findings suggest that while cryptocurrency is gaining traction as an investment option, there remains considerable ambiguity about its long-term role in diversified portfolios.

Would Americans rather own a gold bar or a bitcoin?

While a 1kg gold bar and a bitcoin shared similar valuations at the date of the survey, Americans resoundingly preferred owning a gold bar, both in the present and long-term.

The data reveals that 73% of the general population and 74% of knowledgeable investors would choose to own a gold bar over Bitcoin if given the choice today.

Looking ahead to 10 years from now, the preference for gold remains strong, though slightly diminished, with 67% of the general population and 68% of knowledgeable investors still favoring the precious metal.

While less popular than the gold bar, the 10-year bitcoin option does gain more traction with knowledgeable investors when compared to the average American.

Knowledgeable investors are 56% more likely than the average American to choose bitcoin (15% vs 9%) right now, increasingly slightly to 58% more likely to prefer owning bitcoin in 10 years (20% vs 13%).