South Korea: 20 Year Olds “Most Active” in Cryptocurrency Investment
South Korean news agency, Yonhap , has reported that according to a recent survey, people in their 20s are the front-runners in cryptocurrency investment. The results are not surprising – younger generations from all around the world prefer investing in this new industry rather than stocks and bonds.
Korea Financial Investors Protection Foundation surveyed 2,530 people, between the ages of 25 and 64, and found that 22.7% of 20-somethings bought cryptocurrencies. They were followed by people in their 30s by 19.3%, 40s by 12%, 60s by 10.5% and 50s by 8.2%.
However, 60-year-olds were the ones who invested the largest amount of money in cryptocurrencies with an average total of 6.58 million won ($6,119). 50, 40, 30 and 20 year olds invested 6.28 million won ($5,840), 3.99 million won, 3.73 million won ($3,710) and 29.3 million won ($2,724) respectively. Altogether, 70.2% bought cryptocurrencies as a means of investment, while 34.1% bought it to pay for goods and services.
Other Surveys on Cryptocurrency Adopters
Apart from South Korea, Venture capital company, Blockchain Capital , surveyed over 2,000 Americans from ages 18-to-34 in Nov. 2017. The results showed that 30% “would rather own $1,000 worth of Bitcoin than $1,000 of government bonds or stocks”, but only 2% of them owned cryptocurrency currently or in the past. Blockchain Capital’s managing director, Spence Bogart, said, “the results of the survey reinforce our conviction in the massive opportunity that lies ahead for Bitcoin.”
Another survey by UK-based cryptocurrency exchange, London Block, in Dec. 2017 showed that out of 2,000 Britons, 5% of those below 45 years of age were investors in cryptocurrency, while 11% were planning to invest next year. It was also reported that 2018 is the year where one-third of millennials are expected to invest in cryptocurrencies.
Thus, millennials show a different approach towards investment when compared to their ancestors. A 35-year-old in the 1990s would be looking at real estate for purchasing properties, buying Certificates of Deposit (CDs), or purchasing retirement packages. But a 35-year-old nowadays plans to put more money into the decentralized future of investments – buying BTC, ETH or contributing in ICOs.
Analysts even said that people are choosing Bitcoin over gold – last year, RJO Futures’ Phillip Streible said, “Bitcoin has stolen a large market share of gold.” Throwing some light on this topic, cryptocurrency expert Garrick Hileman, explained that, “millennials began their income generating years during the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis, and many don’t completely trust traditional financial services or the system in which they operate.”
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