Presented by KIS Finance
A recent study by KIS Finance has uncovered various statistics surrounding people’s attitudes towards, and experience of, cryptocurrencies.
Overall, nearly half (47.9%) of people believe that cryptocurrencies are not a safe investment, and a further 37.1% are unsure about the safety of investing in cryptos.
Just 13.8% of people regard cryptocurrencies as a safe investment product.
When the data is split by age, it’s clear that it’s mainly young adults who feel that cryptos are a safe investment. Almost a third (27.5%) of those aged between 18 and 34 feel their money is safe when investing in cryptocurrencies, and this figure drops significantly within the older age groups.
Just 9.7% of adults aged 35 and over view cryptocurrencies as a safe investment, and the figure drops substantially to just 2.9% when we look at those aged 45 and above.
| Yes, it is safe | No, it is unsafe | Unsure | |
| 18 – 24 | 22.8% | 39.6% | 33.7% |
| 25 – 34 | 29.2% | 36.7% | 31.5% |
| 35 – 44 | 20.9% | 39.2% | 38.6% |
| 45 – 54 | 7.9% | 55% | 36% |
| 55 – 64 | 3.7% | 56% | 39.9% |
| 65+ | 0.9% | 59% | 39.8% |
The original cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, originated in 2009, making the whole concept of online currency a relatively recent invention. Given that it’s only been around for a decade it’s not surprising that younger people are more at ease with the concept as they have grown up with it. However for older generations there is significantly less trust in something that they still regard as a new development.
As cryptocurrencies become more and more mainstream, many people are starting to include cryptos as part of their wider investment strategies.
Out of those who have invested in cryptocurrencies, a large percentage (85.7%) also have other investments and savings.
This trend is the same across every age group, however, the percentage of people who only have cryptocurrencies, and no other investments, does increase slightly with age.
| Age | 18 - 24 | 25 - 34 | 35 - 44 | 45 - 54 | 55 - 64 | 65+ |
| Percentage | 10% | 12.6% | 13.2% | 17.5% | 25% | 25% |
Although cryptocurrencies are volatile and can see people lose their whole investment in a short space of time, only half (56.1%) of investors received professional financial advice before buying cryptos.
But, what’s surprising is that it’s actually the younger age groups who are more likely to take the additional step of getting advice before investing.
Over two thirds (65%) of 18-24 year olds got financial advice before making their investment, and this percentage decreases gradually with age.
| Age | 18 - 24 | 25 - 34 | 35 - 44 | 45 - 54 | 55 - 64 | 65+ |
| Percentage | 65% | 55.0% | 60.4% | 55.0% | 40.0% | 25.0% |
It is positive to see that so many young adults are taking their finances seriously and getting proper advice before making investments.
A large number of investors actually borrowed money or used existing credit facilities to purchase cryptocurrencies rather than using income and/or savings.
Overall, more than two thirds (64%) of those who have invested in cryptos, used one or more credit facilities to do so.
| Age | 18 - 24 | 25 - 34 | 35 - 44 | 45 - 54 | 55 - 64 | 65+ |
| Percentage | 70% | 64% | 68.9% | 62.5% | 45% | 25% |
As the table shows, those aged between 18 and 24 were the age group most likely to use borrowed funds to make the investment, with a significant drop of borrowers in the two highest age groups.
When we break down what kinds of credit facilities people have used to purchase cryptocurrencies, over a third of investors (35.5%) used a credit card. The second most common credit facility used were overdrafts with just under a fifth (19.3%) of investors using this method to fund their purchase.
| Credit Facility | Credit card | Overdraft | Personal loan | Secured loan | Payday loan | Re-mortgage |
| Percentage | 35.5% | 19.3% | 14.6% | 9% | 7.6% | 3.3% |
With cryptocurrencies being incredibly volatile and offering no guarantees of the money invested being returned, it’s concerning to see that so many people are borrowing funds to purchase them.
Some credit card providers view this type of transaction as a cash advance and apply higher fees and interest rates, so there may be many investors who find themselves unable to repay their borrowings.
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from a survey conducted with The Leadership Factor. The total sample size was 2,000. Fieldwork was undertaken between 9th September 2021 and 15th September 2021. The survey was carried out online.
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Last updated: 26 April 2022 | © KIS Bridging Loans 2024 | Terms & Conditions
