Millennials are addicted to NetFlix but back Bitcoin more as an investment vehicle
To add to the never ending list of things that millenials have supposedly ruined (we see you, boomers) an investment management firm, reported that millenials invested more in Bitcoin (BTC) than they did in Disney or Netflix in Q3 of 2019. Forget Netflix and chill, millennials are Netflix and Hodling.
Nearly half of millennials say they're likely to buy bitcoin.
Why?
Stocks and real estate are at all-time highs and interest rates are at all time lows. There's ~$250T in global debt that the last generation dined and dashed on.
Bitcoin is this generation's way to get ahead.
— Rhythm (@Rhythmtrader) December 16, 2019
The report
The figures come from a report by Charles Schwab, which looks at the activity of retirement plan investors, with self-directed brokerage accounts. The report shows that millennials (age 23 – 38) hold 1.84% of their assets in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. Contrastingly, they reportedly hold only 1.58% of their assets in Netflix, and 1.68% in Walt Disney Co stocks.
In comparison, Gen X and Boomers don’t seem to think very highly of Bitcoin. Bitcoin doesn’t feature in the top 10 equity holdings for either group. Older generations seems to prefer investments that are a bit more mainstream, like Amazon and Apple.
Given that Bitcoin really only came onto the scene 10 years ago, it’s not that shocking that Boomers aren’t interested in it. Younger investors are often seen as having a bigger appetite for risk than their older counterparts.
Why are millennials so into Bitcoin?
Millennials are Netflix and Hodling, and there’s obviously a reason why. Unlike baby boomers, who grew up in a time of relative plenty, millennials have been exposed to a whole lot of unsavory things over their lifetimes. From a major global recession, the rise of facism, and worsening climate change, things are a little unsteady for this generation.
Bitcoin was founded by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008, as a response to the failings of financial institutions around the world. Nakamoto wanted to provide an alternative, decentralized, and secure means of exchange that would go on to revolutionize the financial world as we know it. Bitcoin is that coin – it’s decentralized (which means it functions away from one single entity), and has grown to have a market cap of $133,762,000,076 (at the time of writing).
The cryptoasset industry is an incredibly volatile market. It’s no wonder that millennials are intrigued by it. Millennials are faster to accept changing environments, because they’ve had to do so rapidly over the course of their lifetimes. Contrastingly, things were a little bit slower for Boomers when they were young.
There’s also the fact that millennials have shown to have a level of distrust in central entities like banks and governments, far more so than boomers. For younger millennials who were still minors during the 2008 recession, there’s no doubt that that event had an impact on this generation.
An inherent distrust of centralized agencies is, for many, the reason why they got into Bitcoin in the first place. Bitcoin, and other crypto assets, offer an alternative to traditional financial institutions in such a way that suits the lifestyle of millennials (and soon Gen Z). Although many use it as a form of investment, its primary and initial function is as a means of exchange. Will cryptocurrencies lead us into a cashless society? That remains to be seen, but millennials are definitely at the forefront of mass adoption.
The facts are the facts
Do boomers still distrust Bitcoin? It kind of seems like it. Contrastingly, millennials are Netflix and Hodling, investing in Bitcoin at a much higher rate than their parents and grandparents. So why is that?
Millennials grew up surrounded by tech, they trust it far more and understand it better than boomers and Gen X. Having been raised in an environment filled with uncertainty (let’s just be honest, the last few decades have been wild), millennials are more likely to take risks on investments. This could also be because they have more to gain, and less to lose.
A healthy distrust of centralized institutions like banks and governments has also led millennials down the crypto asset path. Traditional financial institutions have failed us before, and they will undoubtedly fail us again. Bitcoin is an alternative that can protect millennials from that failing, and this generation is feeling bullish. Millennials are Netflix and Hodling, and it’s about time you do too. If you are looking to trade popular cryptoassets such as Bitcoin and invest in large companies such as Netflix, start trading on the world’s largest social trading platfrom, eToro and enjoy seamless trading today.
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