There have been a number of driving forces behind the Bitcoin boom of 2017. These include core improvements, hard forks, and recognition by institutional exchanges such as CBOE, CME, and Nasdaq. The more mainstream it becomes the bigger the FOMO (fear of missing out), and those driving the momentum in 2018 will be millennials.
According to a report in the Independent, one in three millennials will be investing in cryptocurrencies by the end of next year. Millennials are defined by demographers and researchers as those born between the early 1980s to just after 2000. This generation grew up with technology so cryptocurrencies will be right up their alley.
Youth Gone Wild
Research by London based crypto exchange London Block Exchange revealed that 5% of those aged below 35 already have money invested in cryptocurrencies and a further 11% are planning to invest next year. The younger generation is signaling a shift from traditional investments such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds or even real estate. The study went on to reveal that a further 17% would seriously consider investing in cryptocurrencies by the end of 2018.
With UK property prices escalating beyond the reach of many and the government repeatedly increasing the retirement age, pensions and property are no longer viewed as attractive investments. LBX Founder and CEO Benjamin Dives stated:
“This study underlines the gulf between the younger generation’s view of money and that of their parents and grandparents, who had assets perform so well for them in pensions or property. Millennials clearly feel left behind by the old system and are looking at cryptocurrencies as a new dawn,”
If this does happen it will make cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, plus their siblings, a more popular investment asset among this generation than shares, bonds, commodities or a second property. The study revealed that 24% of those surveyed regretted not buying into cryptocurrencies earlier after seeing their values soar throughout 2017.
Crypto What?
Unsurprisingly 57% of those aged over 55 said that they are not interested in investing in cryptocurrencies. Without some technical knowledge and inclinations, it can be a steep learning curve that the majority of the older generation simply does not want to climb.
Cryptocurrency expert at the University of Cambridge, Garrick Hileman, stated that banks and traditional financial institutions have struggled to reach out to millennials:
“Millennials began their income generating years during the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis, and many don’t completely trust traditional financial services firms or the system in which they operate,”
More investment next year means only one thing for crypto and that is good news for anyone that has got in this year.
Will you be investing in cryptocurrencies in 2018? Let us know in the comments section below.
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