If someone handed you a big wad of tax-free cash, would you buy more crypto? A new study reveals how many people would jump into the cryptocurrency market, which coins they would buy and how age impacts the decision.
LendEDU asked 1,000 random people how they would invest a hypothetical tax-free $10,000 in 2018. Their choices included an array of possibilities: real estate, the stock market, high-yielding savings account or CDs, peer-to-peer loans, 401(k) or Roth IRA, personal education, a child’s education, paying down debt on loans, small business development, or none of the above.
A total of 5.1% chose cryptocurrency, edging out 3.2% of respondents who answered “Invest in my education.”
Topping the list of options was “Pay down debt” with 27.3% of respondents selecting it as their preference, followed by “real estate” with 13.5%.
Virtual Currencies
Of the 5.1% respondents who preferred to invest in cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, despite its recent bear run and extreme volatility, was the top selection, with Ethereum second, Litecoin third and Ripple fourth.
Responses reveal that preferences change according to age. Ripple, for example, with a lasting perception as “the banker’s coin” as opposed to the people’s coin, is a desirable investment for only one generation: baby boomers (55+).