Bitcoin can get agitated when Elon Musk tweets a broken heart emoji. Why is it not flying off the handle, as we stand at the edge of World War 3.
This could partly be due to new HODLers.
These young retail investors are betting on bitcoin for long-term gains rather than quick profits. Their name was first created years ago by a trader who mispelled “hold” in an online forum.
According to market watchers, this trend could stabilize the crypto market that is notoriously volatile and provide a long-term floor. Market watchers point out the fact that bitcoin is up around 5 percent since before the Russian invasion.
Multi-asset retail investing platform eToro found that people aged 18 to 34 are more likely than others to invest in crypto. It claims that 66% of those age groups own bitcoin or other digital currencies. This is an increase of 46 percent from July last year.
More telling, over a third of crypto investors said that they believe it to be a “transformative asset class” in the long-term.
Callie Cox of eToro US described these people in a nutshell as “HODLers”.
These young retail investors are betting on bitcoin for long-term gains rather than quick profits. Their name was first created years ago by a trader who mispelled “hold” in an online forum.
According to market watchers, this trend could stabilize the crypto market that is notoriously volatile and provide a long-term floor. Market watchers point out the fact that bitcoin is up around 5 percent since before the Russian invasion.
Multi-asset retail investing platform eToro found that people aged 18 to 34 are more likely than others to invest in crypto. It claims that 66% of those age groups own bitcoin or other digital currencies. This is an increase of 46 percent from July last year.
More telling, over a third of crypto investors said that they believe it to be a “transformative asset class” in the long-term.
Callie Cox of eToro US described these people in a nutshell as “HODLers”.
She said that people who believe in the technology will be less likely sell when there are scary headlines.
The eToro poll, which included 8,000 investors, is only a snapshot. However, it is consistent with other platforms. For example, Crypto exchange Currency.com claims that 31 percent of its clients are between 23- and 30-years old, while 20 percent are between 18-20 and 20 and for another exchange Busha, the average trader is between 18-40 and 40.
Larissa Bundziak is a young HODLer.
“I don’t believe crypto is a quick way to get rich. “That’s not all the story,” stated the Ukrainian public relations professional, who is 28 years old and resides in the United States.
Her bitcoin investments plummeted from $19,000 to just $3,000 in January 2017, but she said that she kept putting money in and it suddenly jumped to $60,000! She intends to continue increasing her holdings.
She said, “It’s all about being able send it as and whenever I want, to my family members in Ukraine or anywhere else in the world, and not having my money made by banks or third parties where I don’t understand what’s happening with it.”
EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
Last year, small investors drove GameStop and other “meme stocks,” to dizzying heights. This dispelled any doubts about the power of the retail trader as a contrarian force in financial market.
A growing number of bitcoin investors could be a stabilizing factor for long-term investors who are also increasing their bitcoin stashes.
Bitcoin dropped to $34,000 when Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24th. However, it has risen 15% since then.
This seems reasonable for an asset that has been subject to unpredictable and wild swings over the years. Be aware: Bitcoin has taught us a lot about how to expect the unexpected.
Musk has a special power. Bitcoin dropped 35% in May after Musk said Tesla wouldn’t accept cryptocurrency for car purchase. It fell again in June after Musk posted #Bitcoin, a broken-heart emoticon and a photo of a couple talking about a breakup.
PROFILE A CRYPTO TRADE
A second demographic trend in the crypto market is becoming evident: traders skew male.
According to the eToro survey, 38% of male investors have crypto, compared to only 19% of female investors.
U.S. brokerage Robinhood conducted a survey and found that 41% of women investors have never invested in crypto, while only 24% of men did.
Christine Wood, chief operating officer of Robinhood’s crypto business said that “the gender investing competence gap” is a real problem. Robinhood’s chief operating officer for crypto. ?
Market players believe there could be many reasons for the male imbalance.
Ophelia Snyder, cofounder of 21Shares and Amun Tokens, a Swiss-based provider crypto products, stated that “Crypto is located at the intersection of technology and finance, which are both male-dominated industries.”