[2018-10-05] The average bitcoin investor really is young, rich and male

[Jednopivo]

Who owns and trades bitcoin? Young, relatively well-off men living in big cities.

Most people know what bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are and feel comfortable explaining them to others. But the true bitcoin fans are Millennial men earning more than $75,000 a year in urban areas, according to a recent survey of more than 1,000 Americans.
The survey was conducted by Clovr, a company focused on promoting the mainstream adoption of blockchain technologies -- the digital ledgers that record bitcoin transactions. It is one of the first comprehensive studies of who owns cryptocurrencies.
It may not be a huge surprise to learn that the biggest bitcoin evangelists are young men.
But the results will still be a blow to true cryptocurrency evangelists. That's because, in addition to the limited reach it found, the survey's results also show that the primary reason people invest in cryptocurrencies is the possibility of a huge return -- not because they necessary think digital currencies are the future of money. In other words, people view bitcoin much like internet stocks in the late 1990s or marijuana stocks today: a highly speculative investment.
The bitcoin boom is also about latching on to a hot fad -- investors know others who are doing it and they also have a fear of missing out.

That tends to be a recipe for disaster. Individual investors often chase momentum and get in too late. They're still buying when the so-called smart money (big mutual funds and hedge funds) are selling.
And even though bitcoin prices have come crashing down this year, that doesn't mean that the worst is necessarily over. After all, the price of one bitcoin, trading at about $6,400, is up a staggering 3,000% in the past five years. There is arguably still a lot of room to fall.
Mike Cribari, a co-founder of Clovr, said he was a bit surprised that eagerness to make a fast buck was the top reason for buying bitcoin.
"A lot of people involved in speculative investments -- going for long shots -- don't fall into high income brackets," Cribari said, referring to numerous studies about how casinos, lotteries and other forms of gambling are often considered taxes on the poor.


People won't begin to think of cryptocurrencies as a true replacement for dollars, euros, yen and other government-backed paper currencies for some time. For that to happen, bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies will have to be available in more applications that people use in their daily lives.
"It's hard for people to understand things like private keys and transfers," said Cribari. "People need to be able to use cryptocurrencies more for things like buying their lunch."
We might be getting closer to that point. Starbucks, Microsoft and New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange have launched Bakkt, a service that will let people convert bitcoins and other crypto assets into dollars.
And Goldman Sachs backs Circle, a startup that lets people invest and trade in cryptocurrencies and also transfer digital payments via an app that works like text messaging.


**Crypto hangups**
Bitcoin definitely isn't for everyone. Some high-profile hacking incidents of bitcoin wallets may be scaring some people away from cryptocurrencies, Cribari said.

The breakneck volatility in the crypro market isn't helping either. Bitcoin prices surged 50% in the past 12 months but are down 50% so far this year. The top reason people gave for avoiding crypto investments was that it's too risky.
Cribari said he's hopeful that the wild swings are over. After peaking at nearly $20,000 last December, bitcoin prices have stabilized in a range of between $6,000 and $7,000 over the past few months.

More average investors are getting comfortable with the thought of using bitcoin for everyday purchases and owning bitcoin for the long haul, a separate survey found. More than half of the Millennials and more than a third of the Gen Xers polled said they thought cryptocurrencies would become as widely accepted as cash and credit cards, according to BitcoinIRA.com, which lets people buy bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies for their retirement accounts.
Nearly 30% of the Baby Boomers surveyed indicated that they would consider investing in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies for their retirement.




From: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/05/tech/bitcoin-investors-survey/index.html

[rodskee]

It's simple to explain and elaborate why most of investors in cryptocurrency are yung
It's because they believe the new technology bring it into brighter future to help the world economy
Yung and rich people are very interested about thhe new edge of computer science

[gentlemand]

Most of the people I know who are into crypto are nutters, grannies, scumbags and maniacs. But that's mainly because I'm responsible for infecting them.

It doesn't matter what the current crop of owners thinks of crypto. All they have to do is keep it alive and they can make an orderly exit when a better class of user usurps them.

[1Referee]

I think we're at a point already where the mainstream media is just out to publish as much content as possible without caring about how rigged and meaningless surveys are, especially when you take into consideration that a survey of 1000 americans doesn't tell you shit.

In the end, the actual elite that's allocating a chunk of its net worth to Bitcoin doesn't talk about what it is doing. All the empty talk you see here comes from noobies having made $100 in profits and directly assume they are crypto kingpins. It's called dumb money and dumb money is by default a category that you should counter in every possible way.

Interesting is how those who joined in the last 12 months are completely different from the ones that joined before when it comes to their mentality. We're dealing with people who don't give a crap about decentralization. I sadly don't think there is any reason to expect the situation to improve with how XRP becomes people's favorite toy.

[gentlemand]

We're dealing with people who don't give a crap about decentralization. I sadly don't think there is any reason to expect the situation to improve with how XRP becomes people's favorite toy.

Some day there will be some sort of happening/disaster that rams home why it's the only reason any of this stuff is worth bothering with. Unfortunately most humans need to have maximum pain inflicted on them before they realise why something they previously didn't think about or disdained actually counts.

[pixie85]

Most of the people I know who are into crypto are nutters, grannies, scumbags and maniacs. But that's mainly because I'm responsible for infecting them.

It doesn't matter what the current crop of owners thinks of crypto. All they have to do is keep it alive and they can make an orderly exit when a better class of user usurps them.

Those that I know are young poor people who see it as a way of getting out of this poverty and they are proving to be exceptionally good at it. Or maybe it's because Bitcoin has a way of rewarding patience. The survey got one thing right about me. I'm young, the rest is exactly the opposite.

[coolcoinz]

I'm not young and I'm not wealthy. I don't live in a big city and I'm not a... Wait! I am a male, they got that thing right. This is starting to make sense now...

 

After all, the price of one bitcoin, trading at about $6,400, is up a staggering 3,000% in the past five years. There is arguably still a lot of room to fall.

I'd argue with that. A typical bear market in stocks ends with a drop of less than 50%. A typical Bitcoin bear market can take us down by 70%. Isn't that what the market lost this year? A 90% loss would not be a bear market. It would be the death of cryptocurrencies.

[yugyug]

Bitcoin and blockchain technology are very well understood by the millennial and other young at heart generations who understand the process of how will the bitcoin and it networks really works in term of future cryptocurrency and digital payments many traditional investors like stock market guru did not catch up how does the bitcoin works that's why they called it as a bubble but for the future generations it is called as the new digital economy.

[gentlemand]

I'd argue with that. A typical bear market in stocks ends with a drop of less than 50%. A typical Bitcoin bear market can take us down by 70%. Isn't that what the market lost this year? A 90% loss would not be a bear market. It would be the death of cryptocurrencies.

Are you new here? The first Bitcoin bear market had a fall of about 90%. The second proper one was over 80%. This is only the third and it's not done yet. 90% would be $2000 which is achievable and far from death. 

[stompix]

Interesting is how those who joined in the last 12 months are completely different from the ones that joined before when it comes to their mentality. We're dealing with people who don't give a crap about decentralization. I sadly don't think there is any reason to expect the situation to improve with how XRP becomes people's favorite toy.

Funny how just a few minutes earlier I was posting in a topic where the new "stable" coin issued by Goldman Sachs was praised as good news for crypto....

The new generation is all about $, there are a few exceptions of course but the overwhelming majority is caring only about $, and I'm not talking about the bounty section here on bitcointalk but the entire environment. I just hope the wake-up call that gentlemand mentioned will came fast enough to clear things up. Otherwise, we might just end with things worse than fiat replacing bitcoin.

But the survey might be right about something, after all, those that could get in the madness and start trading with a real amount and not making pennies a day were those who could afford to spend a few thousand with ease. You won't find those in the slums of a 3rd world country.

[Harlot]

This might be obvious, as for my line of thinking I think that young people are the ones who are investing in cryptocurrency as they know that they don't have that much to lose unlike people who are in their mid 40s they really don't have that space for errors with regards to their money that is why their money will always go to safe bets compared to what we are having now. This young people starve for more money and they will always ride the fastest horse available that is why a lot of people are risking their money as well as losing it without even learning how to trade cryptocurrencies.

[1Referee]

I just hope the wake-up call that gentlemand mentioned will came fast enough to clear things up. Otherwise, we might just end with things worse than fiat replacing bitcoin.

I honestly think that Bitcoin has the least to worry about, but more so other altcoins, and especially the utility platforms such as Ethereum. I do see a future where internet giants as Google will launch their own utility platform, and maybe they're working on it already.

XRP fanboys legit believe that Brad Garlinghouse has an xRapid switch which he can toggle on to generate tons of volumes and to have the price increase significantly. These idiots don't understand that it's not even possible legally to use an asset as XRP within financial institutions other than for testing purposes.

Financial institutions work with their own token within the infrastructure provided by Ripple, and XRP has practically nothing to do with it.

[gentlemand]

Financial institutions work with their own token within the infrastructure provided by Ripple, and XRP has practically nothing to do with it.

That eternal and clear factoid hasn't done much to temper the enthusiasm out there. I think it's safe to say by this point there's no rationality left and we need to wait for it to run out and we may be rather surprised by how long that takes.

When you look at the 'top' coins it's pretty stunning really. Clones, jokes, non entities, stuff that's fundamentally bust. Yet there it is right up there still. I really thought that aspect would be further along by now.

[BitHodler]

When you look at the 'top' coins it's pretty stunning really. Clones, jokes, non entities, stuff that's fundamentally bust. Yet there it is right up there still. I really thought that aspect would be further along by now.

Same here. I was shocked to see how far altcoins were bought up during the peak of the bull run. It made me as Bitcoiner look like an idiot with how I was talking about how bad of an investment they are.

The market as a whole looks a bit more healthy right now, especially when it comes to altcoin valuations. We have to accept that they won't be going anywhere, and that during the next bull run they'll go up like mad again.

That directly makes me wonder, can we really blame old farts as Warren Buffett for trashing the crypto market? I too believe that it's not that far away from being utter shit for the most part.

[gentlemand]

That directly makes me wonder, can we really blame old farts as Warren Buffett for trashing the crypto market? I too believe that it's not that far away from being utter shit for the most part.

Not in the slightest. If all those projects down below were beavering away and spewing out wonders then that would be one thing. We all know perfectly well that they're not. Many are just a copy and paste or knocking up some tokens and adding some flash.

I don't see how anyone can look at what's out there and objectively think it's totally awesome. Bitcoin itself is more impressive than ever. It's also looking increasingly singular compared to everything else.

[squatter]

When you look at the 'top' coins it's pretty stunning really. Clones, jokes, non entities, stuff that's fundamentally bust. Yet there it is right up there still. I really thought that aspect would be further along by now.

Same here. I was shocked to see how far altcoins were bought up during the peak of the bull run. It made me as Bitcoiner look like an idiot with how I was talking about how bad of an investment they are.

The market as a whole looks a bit more healthy right now, especially when it comes to altcoin valuations.

Wait until the next bullrun. Altcoins aren't going anywhere. Once the Bitcoin market turns around, money will flow back into alts. Over the years, I've come to realize the interplay between Bitcoin and altcoin markets mirrors "Risk-On Risk-Off" activity.

When Bitcoin is bullish -- and so investors stop fleeing to dollars -- altcoins become a "low risk" environment again.

I don't see how anyone can look at what's out there and objectively think it's totally awesome. Bitcoin itself is more impressive than ever. It's also looking increasingly singular compared to everything else.

How hard are you looking? I see a lot of bitcoiners repeating this opinion, but I could never be bothered to research the top 20 coins, let alone altcoins in general.

[RodeoX]

When the article refers to the "average bitcoin user", it is important to keep in mind that there is absolutely no way to determine who owns or uses bitcoin and no way to determine any kind of average.  So what the author has done is to bring his own bias and per-conceived notions out. He must just think that young, rich, men should be the ones who own bitcoin, but he can't actually know that.

[1Referee]

When you look at the 'top' coins it's pretty stunning really. Clones, jokes, non entities, stuff that's fundamentally bust. Yet there it is right up there still. I really thought that aspect would be further along by now.

I think that we as Bitcoiners are so spoiled with what we have, that we look down on everything beneath it and assume it will fail because it's mostly shit. We have been proven wrong in the way that shit is good enough to be worth billions here. Shit increases harder than Bitcoin and for that reason it's people's choice to ride bull runs in one of the 1001 altcoins instead of Bitcoin.

That directly makes me wonder, can we really blame old farts as Warren Buffett for trashing the crypto market?

Bitcoin maximalists are just as bad when it comes to trashing altcoins. I have done nothing but trashing altcoins, and that in all possible ways.

[1BTC EQUALS 1CAR]

When the article refers to the "average bitcoin user", it is important to keep in mind that there is absolutely no way to determine who owns or uses bitcoin and no way to determine any kind of average.  So what the author has done is to bring his own bias and per-conceived notions out. He must just think that young, rich, men should be the ones who own bitcoin, but he can't actually know that.

Yeah, he must have done it in a party near his place then made a discussion with these rich folks about bitcoins. After that, he made this ridiculous survey. I know a lot of males are in crypto but I think majority of the them who invested are not really rich.

[stompix]

Yeah, he must have done it in a party near his place then made a discussion with these rich folks about bitcoins. After that, he made this ridiculous survey. I know a lot of males are in crypto but I think majority of the them who invested are not really rich.

Well it also depends what you consider the relevant majority

Should we run numbers on how many of people holding from 1 satoshi to 1000 BTC are male and rich , or should we consider how much of the entire supply is held by the young rich and males? Because in the end, it doesn't matter if 1 million grannies in Venezuela hold a few coins when guys like Fat Frappucino might end even after the trial with a few tens of thousands.

it is important to keep in mind that there is absolutely no way to determine who owns or uses bitcoin  

Unless they come out in public and talk about it with proofs.
We know for example that at least 100 000 BTC are in the hands of two guys that fit the criteria perfectly. Silbert is another case, even...Shrem...