German Consumer Crypto Report: Younger Citizens Find Bitcoin Investing More Attractive Than Elders

Younger Germans More Interested in Investing in Cryptocurrencies: Study Shows

With the boom of the silicon valley, the world tends to forget the contributions of other sciences and even nations. Thus, one easily forgets that the greatest scientist test of our times and arguably of all times, Albert Einstein was German (at least for a large part of his life). With such a scientific and technological pedigree this news about the interest shown by Germans into cryptocurrencies is heartening.

A survey done by the German Consumer Centers of Hesse and Saxony published Monday, Nov. 5 published that more than one-fourth of the younger interviewees were ready to invest in cryptocurrencies. These Consumer Centers are government-backed organizations that are not for profit. These state-level agencies are focused on protecting consumers and work in an advisory capacity as well. The two centers, jointly covering a population of about 10 million people, polled a thousand Germans between the ages of 18 and 39.

There were some interesting finds that were published in Wirtschaftswoche, a German business news weekly. It noted that about 55 percent of the respondents had heard of cryptocurrencies. One in three who were aware said they were likely to invest in them. However, when quizzed about the perception of risk associated with cryptocurrencies, a whopping 70 percent replied with concerns about crypto trading, branding it either ‘risky’ or ‘very risky’.

When this data was further studied it showed a strong correlation between risk perception and age of the respondent. While more than half the respondents over the age of 30 found it risky to invest in cryptocurrencies nearly 30 percent under 29 considered such an idea “conceivable.”

This is particularly heartening when one factor in the leanings of the survey itself. Wolf Brandes, the team leader at the Consumer Center of Hesse had warned,

“Investors need to know: cryptocurrencies in terms of investment are gray capital markets. There is no regulation or investor protection.”

This sort of distrust in digital currencies seems to be shared by many in the government. Just last month, Olaf Scholz, the German Finance Minister had been quoted saying that cryptocurrencies did not have “an economically significant importance”. He went on to discuss his scepticism about them being able to replace fiat money. He also compared this “fad” to the”tulip mania” that infamously gripped the markets of Netherlands during the early part of the 17th century.

Across the pond, in the U.S.A YouGov Omnibus, a research service conducted a similar study about the patterns of investment with American millennials. It found that more than 35 percent would be interested and, in fact, would prefer using digital currencies over the dollar. A similar poll conducted by Clovr, a blockchain-analytics firm, found that most of these investment inclined people were those earning in excess of the National median income.

As more and more people are learning about blockchain and its advantages it is natural for some to be sceptic about it. However, unlike the artificial nature of the “Tulip mania” that the economy bought about itself, this digital age “fever” is a more concentrated solution to the needs and demands of an increasingly integrated world.