South Korean blockchain developers are struggling with image problem due to a series of scams and scandals.
The Block Media found the negative public sentiment during a series of street interviews with college students.
At the end of 2017, the Korea Financial Investors Protection Foundation conducted a survey of 2,530 aged between 25-64 in Seoul and six major cities and found that 13.9 percent of them had bought cryptocurrencies. Especially 22.7 percent of the people in the 20s bought cryptocurrencies
About 18 months later, the Block Media interviewed 30 science majors of the Sungkyungkwan University. Many of them were quite negative or cynical about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
A computer science major said blockchain is related with Bitcoin. A materials science major said he decided not to enroll in the blockchain class because it seems complicated.
A software major said he is negative on Bitcoin. Another student said Bitcoin either conjures up an image of turning the poor into the rich or cornering you into bankruptcy.
He knew friends who either earned or lost money, saying Bitcoin is a risky investment.
A machinery engineering student said he is skeptical about Bitcoin because there is nothing tangible. Another student said Bitcoin looks like a casino gambling.
A consensus of their view is quite negative on cryptocurrencies. Why do the majority of them have a negative opinion?
Following a go-go boom in 2017, many fraudsters extorted money from investors by promising false returns.
Bithumb exchange was hacked, losing multi-million dollars. The government also played a role. It tightly banned initial coin offerings and remote-controlled banks not to open accounts with exchanges and investors.
It may take a long time before the public has an objective view on Bitcoin and blockchains.
