According to a new report by Disqo, the consumer insights platform, general awareness around cryptocurrency has been growing rapidly — especially now that bitcoin can be bought from PayPal.
Amid the hype, Disqo looked at the online behaviors of over 10,000 visitors to cryptocurrency exchanges and Robinhood to better understand these new investors.
As untraditional financial services and cryptocurrencies have been growing over the last two years, recent traffic has been largely driven by social media and speculative bubbles or news. For example, a high point in visits can be seen during the GameStop activist trade in late 2020 and early 2021, while another peak was seen when Elon Musk tweeted about dogecoin in May 2021.
As the Super Bowl approaches and Crypto.com and FTX are poised to make their debut as advertisers, Disqo’s researchers predict another peak is on its way.
In comparison to traditional investors, Disqo’s report describes cryptocurrency buyers as being very confident. In the company’s survey, cryptocurrency buyers said they were much more likely to agree somewhat or strongly with the statement, “I prefer high risk/high reward investments (44 percent). And they were more confident in managing personal finances at 72 percent in comparison to just 23 percent who used traditional methods of finance.
Ultimately, the authors of Disqo’s report said, “it’s not income that drives consumers to cryptocurrency exchanges and Robinhood.” For young investors, these new investment opportunities may represent a new solution that meets their needs as they think about managing personal finances and feel underserved by traditional financial firms.
Still, not only young consumers are buying cryptocurrency. In fact, Disqo’s research found that all ages and incomes are open to and experimenting with new investments. “Traditional banks and brokerage firms have done a remarkable job of adapting to the rise of the internet as an investing tool, both through digital restructuring and acquisitions,” said the authors of the report.
While traditional financial service firms still hold a large percentage of investors, survey data found that maintaining and building relationships with cryptocurrency users will require new services and reengineering existing services. Looking ahead, the company said that evidence is indicating that the financial services market will undergo another wave of disruption as cryptocurrency shifts people’s ideas of what money is, what it’s for and how it works.
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