A new study suggests that many consumers remain cautious about the prospect of purchasing or using digital currency. The report was written by the Massachusetts Division of Banks (MDB) in conjunction with the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), who canvassed more than 1,000 consumers with an online survey that focused on digital currency.

The CSBS, which is a national organization of bank regulators, previously held a hearing on the topic of digital currency in May. The survey data shows that while a slim majority of respondents (51%) have heard of digital currency, 65% stated that they are “unlikely” to ever buy or use a technology like bitcoin.

Eighteen percent of participants indicated that they were “likely” or “very likely” to use a digital currency, and only 3% of those who had heard of bitcoin said they had actually bought some. According to the CSBS, the Emerging Payments Task Force – the organization’s working group that focuses, in part, on bitcoin – will use the data as it continues to develop its policies for digital currency.

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In a statement, the chairman of the task force and Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks David Cotney said that the study fits into the broader research phase currently taking place. He explained: “State regulators welcome innovations that lead to greater choice and lower costs, but we also want to understand any consumer and marketplace risks as we evaluate the overall benefits of virtual currencies.”

Fears regarding security and regulation, as well as concerns regarding the lack of consumer protections afforded in the traditional financial system, were highlighted in the study. Sixty-one percent said that the overall security of their bitcoins would factor significantly into whether or not they used or purchased some, while 43% of study participants stated that bitcoin’s tax status would be a major factor. Forty-eight percent reported that concerns of insurance might stop them from buying bitcoin.

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All 70,000 residents living on the Caribbean nation of Dominica will be eligible to receive bitcoin as part of The Bit Drop project, an upcoming collaboration between bitcoin businesses, interest groups and local government officials. Scheduled to take place on 14th March, 2015, The Bit Drop will feature an island-wide party boasting ‘celebrities, musicians and supporters of bitcoin’, as well as education booths and free giveaways. The event will also coincide with Pi Day, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi).

Speaking to CoinDesk, project manager Sarah Blincoe suggested the ambitious project started with a simple question – How do you get bitcoin into the hands of as many people as possible? From there, she explained, a plan was launched to distribute an undisclosed amount of bitcoin to island residents via text messaging.

While the event has serious goals, Blincoe said the group decided to adopt a lighthearted tone for the project, adding:”Who doesn’t like a party? No one in the Caribbean, that is for sure.” Project partners include bitcoin wallet and merchant processing provider Coinapult, international non-profit College Cryptocurrency Network, women’s industry group Bitcoin Beauties and bitcoin-friendly insurance provider Aspen Assurance.

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Dominica, with its relatively small population and gross domestic product (GDP), proved an ideal location for the event, according to Blincoe.

The country’s high mobile penetration rates, however, may have been the most compelling factor. Blincoe believes Dominica’s smartphone users will be able to solve real-world problems using bitcoin, adding:”The island has opportunities for remittance due to many islanders moving for work to islands as well as the local medical university with students from around the globe. Dominica citizens also face currency exchange issues when traveling to others nearby islands.”

Data from Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL), a regulatory body overseeing telecommunications in Dominica, bolsters this claim, suggesting there were roughly 100,000 mobile subscriptions active in the country in 2012.

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KnCMiner has become the latest bitcoin company to join the ecosystem’s ongoing debate over how bitcoin prices should be displayed. The Sweden-based bitcoin mining company announced on Twitter today that it will now allow users the option to view bitcoin prices in bits on its KnC Wallet app.

The news plays into a growing debate on how bitcoin’s value should be expressed in order to best appeal to mainstream consumers. The price of bitcoin has increased tremendously since bitcoin was introduced five years ago, and as such, early adopters of the digital currency have had to express its values in much smaller units – millibits, microbits or satoshis, for example. 1 BTC is the equivalent of 1,000,000 bits.

As bitcoin has become more and more prominent in the mainstream, some of its users and advocates believe that having a simpler, more comprehensible and more established representation of value could lower the adoption barrier and help put bitcoin skeptics’ fears of price volatility at ease.

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In early May, Georgia-based payments processor BitPay announced its plan to introduce prices expressed in bits on both its website and for its merchant customers.

Bitcoin developer Jeff Garzik indicated on the BitPay blog that the transition would make displaying prices more intuitive for consumers and users new to bitcoin, saying:”At a higher level, people are more familiar with prices expressed in numbers extending no more than two decimal places […] This assumption is built into cash registers, spreadsheets, amount input dialogs and basic, person-person real-world transactions.”

Coinbase made the same move the following month, announcing its decision in a June blog post. The San Francisco-based bitcoin financial services startup cited its desire to ensure its platform remains user-friendly as a key reason for the move.

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