40% of American Millennials Would Invest in Cryptocurrencies During a Recession

Cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, have often been touted as a hedge against global risk. Indeed, it has been found that Bitcoin is a better predictor of geopolitical instability than gold. That’s largely because Bitcoin is more in tune with the pulse of the internet whereas gold is not. However, we now have some more concrete data on how the American public would respond during a possible future recession.

Millennials Lead the Way on Cryptocurrencies

In what should be a surprise to no one, millennials lead all age groups in being the most likely to invest in cryptocurrencies during a recession. The poll, conducted by eToro, found that 40% of this demographic would do so come an economic crash. Other age groups, however, different in their prescriptions on what to do during a recession. Generation X (those born between 1965 and 1979) was found to be more likely to stock up on actual goods. Surprisingly, every second respondent in ‘Generation Z’ (those born after 1995) said they would invest in real estate. According to Guy Hirsch, Executive Director of eToro, “We believe that if a recession were to occur, we’d see shrinking stock portfolios and growth in other asset classes like crypto, as well as new fractional ownership models.” In total, more than 1,000 people were polled for the survey.

Recession Fears Continue to Build

Economists have been stoking fears, claiming that a recession may be on the horizon sometime in 2020 or 2021. According to a recent report by Morgan Stanley, the economy is in worse shape than it was prior to the collapse of the 2008 economic crisis. It’s still unclear how well Bitcoin will perform if a recession were to happen, considering the fact that the leading cryptocurrency has never experienced one. It was born out of a recession, however, and its current unique position in global markets could make it the perfect hedge. So, stock up on some BTC just in case. Do you find the survey believable? Do you agree that Bitcoin is a good hedge during a recession? Let us know your thoughts below in the comments. 

---

Images are courtesy of Shutterstock.