Key facts:
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Long-term investing is the majority reason young people have bitcoin.
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Life expectancy and increased knowledge about BTC could be the causes of this trend.
“Enjoy the moment”, “treat yourself with your money that you will not take it to the grave”, “do not wait to live tomorrow, live today”. These and other phrases denote a short-term mentality that many might associate with the younger section of the population. But young bitcoiners seem to be the exception.
At least that’s what a study by the American consultancy Civic Science indicates. This pollster asked 6,788 Americans the following question: “What is, or would be, your main reason for investing in cryptocurrencies (such as bitcoin or ether)?”
The question had six possible answers: short-term investment; long-term investment; fast, cheap and secure transactions; coverage against adverse economic conditions; independence from government meddling; and “others”.
A graph from the analytical firm divides the responses by age. It is observed there that holding bitcoin (BTC) as a long-term investment leads the younger sectors of the surveyed population. The percentage reaches 36% in the case of individuals between 18 and 24 years old.
On the one hand, this could be considered as something obvious, if life expectancy is taken into account. Thinking about keeping some bitcoins or, even if it is, some satoshis, for about 5, 10 or 20 years, in the hope that their price will increase, does not seem so far-fetched when – according to statistics – one still has a good stretch of his life to enjoy the goods and services that can be acquired with them.
But, on the other hand (and knowing that it is the young sector of the population that knows the most about bitcoin), it is an indicator, perhaps, that the cryptocurrency promotes in its users low time preferences and a long-term mentality in relation to finances.
These low time preferences refer to the fact of reducing present expenses to benefit from the future valuation of the asset. This is something that happens with bitcoin, but not with the currencies of the States because all of them are inflationary.
Renowned Korean-American bitcoiner Jimmy Song is convinced that BTC – unlike fiat money – promotes the virtue of prudence. This is what he said during his participation in a conference reported by Cryptolafinancein which he detailed:”fiat money is the opposite and can be seen in the huge debts that everyone has.”
The Civic Science study indicates that, among respondents over the age of 55, those who see bitcoin as a short-term investment stand out numerically (28%). “They show much more tolerance for financial risk,” the report details.
It could be assumed – since the study does not investigate the reasons – that this happens because the percentage of their wealth that they are willing to invest in BTC is less than what younger people would put. In this way, the volatility of the cryptocurrency would not affect them so much because they have a more diversified portfolio.
Another possibility that would explain this answer is that this age sector has less knowledge about bitcoin and its market cycles. Well, – unless you have a great ability to trade– it is less likely that someone can obtain a significant return with BTC in short periods, than that you will get it by hodlear the crypto asset a few years.
How many stopped working thanks to bitcoin? And other fun facts
Civic Science in its report gives other interesting and curious facts. For example, one of the questions reveals that 4 out of 100 respondents say they have stopped working, thanks to the profits obtained from investments in cryptocurrencies.
It is worth clarifying that this question was answered by 6,741 Americans. This is 0.02% of a population of 329.5 million people,so it cannot be considered a significant sample.
Another question was: “Have investments in cryptocurrencies increased your personal wealth?” 54% of the 1,764 people who responded said yes. Note that the survey was conducted between October 21 and 28. By that time, BTC had just reached its last all-time high price, and many altcoins also increased their price considerably.
The last question from the Civic Science study leaves a curious result, if the above answers are taken into account. “Do you expect to be richer than your parents as a result of your cryptocurrency investments?” was the question, with 72% of respondents answering no. 17% said “maybe” and only 12% are convinced that this will be the case.
