The Coronavirus Cryptocurrency Craze
The trading of Ethereum, Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies escalated at the dawning of 2020, then witnessed a novel high in February. The impressive element is that this level was maintained during the peak of the Coronavirus crisis from March up to May.
According to Coin Metrics, the historical advance, if sustained, Bitcoin’s present daily volume would require less than four years of progress to surpass the daily volume of all US equities. The pertinent question that clouds every mind is what drives this coronavirus-fuelled fad for the future growth of cryptocurrency?
Who’s Buying Bitcoin?
A recent study by Cornerstone Advisors disclosed that 15% of Americans possess some form of cryptocurrency, and more than half of these investors indulged in this investment during the first six months of 2020 for the very first time.
These new investors made $67.5 billion in cryptocurrencies, which translates to roughly $ 4,000 per individual. However, the self-reported value for Americans who invested in cryptocurrency prior to this year is $111 billion, which means $7,000 per individual. With 15% penetration, the US enters the top 10 countries with the most significant deployment of cryptocurrencies.
The Demographics of Bitcoin Buyers
Almost eight out of ten crypto buyers in 2020 can be classified as men with an average income of $130,000. Now, if you examine their qualification, four out of ten had a Master’s degree, while 70% had a Bachelor’s degree. Therefore, to conclude, the majority were men from the high income and well-educated bracket.
Millennials from the age bracket of 26 to 40 years constituted 57% of the consumers actively purchasing cryptocurrency in 2020. At the same time, Gen Xers that comprised of individuals from 41 to 55 years old, was responsible for another 30%.In totality, 27% of Millennials and 21% of Gen Xers own at least one form of cryptocurrency, when juxtaposed to 7% of Gen Xers and a paltry 3% of Baby Boomers.
Ultimately, a total of 21% of crypto buyers had their central bank as Bank of America. This recent upswing for Bitcoin during this year had almost 47% as customers of Bank of America. But there is a prevalent misconception that Bitcoin investors have predominantly digital banks as their primary banks, but that is a negligible six percent.
The Bitcoin Benefit
There is no concrete evidence to prove that cryptocurrency is the sole reason for this, but 44% of Americans who had already invested in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies testified that their financial health was sound despite the crisis engendered by Covid-19.
First Time Investors
These are the people who enkindle a metamorphosis in the financial institutions they indulge in business with. The consumers who invested in cryptocurrency in 2020 for the first time, half of them had altered their chief banking relationship in the past six months.
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