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Nearly a Third of Millennials Say They'd Rather Own Bitcoin Than Stocks (bloomberg.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the market-capitalizations dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: A survey by venture capital firm Blockchain Capital found that about 30 percent of those in the 18-to-34 age range would rather own $1,000 worth of Bitcoin than $1,000 of government bonds or stocks. The study of more than 2,000 people found that 42 percent of millennials are at least somewhat familiar with bitcoin, compared with 15 percent among those ages 65 and up. Bitcoin rose more than 6 percent Wednesday to as much as $7,545, helping to push the value of the total cryptocurrency market above $200 billion for the first time, according to CoinMarketcap. The digital asset has soared more than 600 percent this year, compared with gains of 15 percent for the S&P 500 Index -- which might explain millennials' attraction.

18 of 312 comments (clear)

  1. Not that strange by rudy_wayne · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Bitcoin and stocks have something in common. Their price has absolutely no connection to reality. Since Bitcoin is new and tech-y, younger people feel more comfortable with it, even though it's all a complete scam, just like the stock market.

    1. Re:Not that strange by sheramil · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This. They see the stock market as being controlled by Wall Street; they can't get in on the game, so they turn towards another game that lets them do nothing while they imagine they're accruing value somehow. Nobody ever went broke offering people something for nothing.

      I was originally going with "It's because they're stupid. That's why. That's why everybody does everything." - Homer Simpson

    2. Re:Not that strange by NewWorldDan · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Bitcoin has essentially nothing in common with stocks. Stocks are ownership in a real world corporation that, ideally, pays regular dividends to share holders. The corporation has actual assets. Bitcoin is just numbers on a computer. It is effectively a currency, and while currency trading does occur, the currency markets are a great way to lose money. Bitcoin has no intrinsic value, but rather maintains its value by the utility it offers and the number of people who hold Bitcoin. This makes it very similar to any fiat currency, actually. At least investing in metals gives you something with intrinsic value.

      But, whatever. Millennials can be as stupid as they want, it just means better returns for me. You do you, I've studied how rich people build and maintain their wealth, and I'm going to do that.

    3. Re:Not that strange by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      HFT is a scam, but it has little impact on people over the long term. If you're holding a stock for a number of years, the difference between what you make and what you would have made without the HFT is tiny.

      HFT ought to be illegal because it uses future prices to steal a few cents here and there from a large number of people. But, individually, small investors aren't going to notice the difference as those couple cents are nothing compared with what you make over the long term.

  2. Then I'm buying Stocks! by bobbied · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Don't run with the herd if you want to make real money..

    --
    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    1. Re: Then I'm buying Stocks! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Shush this is slashdot 2017. He will get mod points. You wont. Math be damned.

  3. And this... by Type44Q · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And this is how the unknowing are separated from their wealth. Buy high, sell low, boys.

    1. Re:And this... by McGruber · · Score: 4, Insightful

      And this is how the unknowing are separated from their wealth. Buy high, sell low, boys.

      Note the source of the survey... from the article:

      A survey by venture capital firm Blockchain Capital found that about 30 percent of those in the 18-to-34 age range would rather own $1,000 worth of Bitcoin than $1,000 of government bonds or stocks. The study of more than 2,000 people found that 42 percent of millennials are at least somewhat familiar with bitcoin, compared with 15 percent among those ages 65 and up.

      The true suckers are going to be those buying Bitcoin polling sponsored by mainstream media (CNN and/or FoxNews) finds 30% of people would rather have bitcoin than bonds or stocks.

  4. This is the hard way to learn why we regulate by sandbagger · · Score: 4, Insightful

    BitCoin are unregulated investment instruments. They can't keep climbing indefinitely and some people will lose their shirts.

    Not you of course. No, you're special.

    The most dangerous words in finance are 'this time is different' and no, no it's not different. Investments are regulated so that people are protected from the Bernie Madoffs of the world and it's necessary to do so.

    --
    ---- The above post was generated by the Turing Institute. Maybe.
    1. Re:This is the hard way to learn why we regulate by ClickOnThis · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Investments are regulated so that people are protected from the Bernie Madoffs of the world and it's necessary to do so.

      So, you're using a real-world example of some shit that actually recently happened to say that "investments are regulated" so said thing can't happen? I think I'm lost.

      Bernie Madoff went to jail for what he did, and he'll probably die there.

      Regulations may not prevent shit from happening. But when you have regulations, you can make shit happen to people who violate them. Thus providing an incentive to the would-be Madoffs of the finance world to behave themselves.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    2. Re:This is the hard way to learn why we regulate by jedidiah · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Bernie Madoff engaged in the classic con. For a con to work, you need a greedy mark. Every one of his victims thought they could get something for nothing. They thought they could get unrealistic returns.

      This sounds a lot like Bitcoin really.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  5. Too young to know by manu0601 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Perhaps millennials are too young to remember what a bubble is?

  6. Re:Isn't owning stocks basically worthless? by Strider- · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Tech stocks? Sure, but there are actually a lot of traditional stocks that actually pay dividends. Banks, and the traditional industrial set come to mind. They're not sexy, but they are one of the reasons why Warren Buffet is as wealthy as he is.

    --
    ...si hoc legere nimium eruditionis habes...
  7. In other news by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    1/3 of millennials don't understand risk, volatility or liquidity.

    --
    I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
  8. Or Beany Babies by XXongo · · Score: 1, Insightful

    When they were kids, they were the generation that would rather own Beany Babies than stocks. Since the bottom dropped out of the Beany Baby bubble, they are looking for something else.

    1. Re:Or Beany Babies by Merk42 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      When they were kids, they were the generation that would rather own Beany Babies than stocks. Since the bottom dropped out of the Beany Baby bubble, they are looking for something else.

      1. They were kids
      2. The ones that "invested" in Beanie Babies were adults at the time and not Millennials

    2. Re: Or Beany Babies by kilfarsnar · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Except that Bitcoin is a first of it's kind decentralized trustless way to transfer value and has the most concentrated network effect of all Cryptocurrencies. It's a technological marvel. It can replace money, bank accounts, stock certificates, contracts.. it's revolutionary, deflationary and its still not widely dispersed which means increase in value. The millennials are not dumb here.

      Do you know why inflation is built into currencies? Why should I buy something today if my money will be worth more tomorrow? Why would I produce a good today if it will be cheaper to produce it tomorrow? Deflation encourages saving, discourages spending and reduces the velocity of money. It's not that the millennials are dumb, it's that they don't fully understand money and investing.

      --
      "What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
  9. In related news by dave562 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    100% of millennials have never been personally affected by a commodity bubble bursting.

    Sometimes people have to learn lessons the hard way.