Survey: 35% of Americans Support "Next-Generation Fintech," But Support Drops to Just 13% When Cryptocurrency Is Explicitly Mentioned

on October 27, according to journalist Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett), the latest survey by the DeFi Education Fund (@fund_defi) and Ipsos shows strong U.S. public support for broad financial innovation compared to cryptocurrency. While 35% of respondents believe political candidates should support the development of the next generation of U.S. financial technology, this figure drops to 13% when questions explicitly mention blockchain, cryptocurrency, and DeFi. This gap also aligns with recent corporate trends downplaying "pure crypto" positioning, with a16z Frontier being the latest example.

The survey also reveals that 74% of respondents believe the financial system needs reform to allow individuals to better manage their funds and assets. However, only 9% of respondents say they are very or extremely familiar with cryptocurrency, and only 5% have complete or high trust in decentralized platforms. Among those willing to try DeFi, savings and domestic U.S. transfers are the primary potential use cases, rather than speculative trading. Additionally, cryptocurrency ownership has risen by 4 percentage points, yet usage remains flat at 13% over the past year. Eleanor Terrett notes that the crypto industry still faces brand perception challenges in 2026 and needs to demonstrate its value to the average American.