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DuckDuckGo, which is a privacy-focused online search engine, recently surveyed the general public's view on the importance of privacy on the internet. The results indicated that people care about the amount of information being collected about them online, and many respondents even claimed they have taken action to better protect their personal data.
"The results are clear: not only are privacy concerns widespread, but people are, indeed, taking action," said a DuckDuckGo blog post regarding the study.
This greater interest in online privacy should have a positive impact on Bitcoin adoption over the long term, as the cryptocurrency is basically the financial equivalent of deleting one's Facebook account.
DuckDuckGo Research Shows People Care About Their Privacy
According to the DuckDuckGo survey, which involved a random sample of 1,114 Americans aged 18 and older, nearly 80% of respondents adjusted their privacy settings or reduced their use of social media in the past year. Additionally, almost a quarter of those surveyed claimed they had deleted or deactivated social media accounts due to privacy concerns.
The changes social media users have made to their accounts include the removal of location tags on posts and taking their profiles private.
Outside of the social media realm, 38.6% of respondents in the survey said they have used a password manager in the past year and 24.1% said they had used a virtual private network (VPN).
On top of the numbers shared related to the survey, the blog post from DuckDuckGo also claimed the privacy-focused search engine company has seen 68% growth over the past year. Notably, a Pew Research survey from 2018 found results similar to those found in this new evaluation from DuckDuckGo.
The Bitcoin Connection
Now, those who do not quite understand why Bitcoin was created in the first place may be wondering what this DuckDuckGo research has to do with the world's most popular cryptocurrency. In short, the increased desire for online privacy and true ownership over one's data should also lead to greater interest in and adoption of Bitcoin because the cryptocurrency is the only option when it comes to digital financial self-sovereignty.
The only way for financial privacy and a form of digital money that doesn't rely on trust in a third party to exist online is through a decentralized system like Bitcoin. In the past, centralized digital currency systems that allowed for a greater degree of privacy, such as E-gold and Liberty Reserve, were shut down by government agencies. When it comes to Bitcoin, lawmakers are aware that they are unable to regulate, control, or ban the cryptocurrency network.
The importance of the existence of something like Bitcoin becomes increasingly obvious as the world moves towards a cashless society.
According to Castle Island Ventures Partner Nic Carter, this focus on digital financial self-sovereignty is something that is often overlooked by the altcoins.
Although the Bitcoin price has struggled recently, this utility of Bitcoin to provide increased financial privacy and seizure-resistant properties in the digital realm is why some investors are predicting the crypto asset could go as high as $100,000 in a couple of years.
