Is The Average Cryptocurrency Investor Just a Clueless Degenerate?

Apparently, ten years into the global financial game isn’t enough. Cryptocurrency investors still can’t get enough love from the mainstream media — or regulators, for that matter. From research studies to perennial permabears, the average cryptocurrency investor is pulverized, one way or another. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) — a UK regulator overseeing 58,000 financial firms and markets — for example, has recently published the results of a survey that included 2,132 face-to-face interviews with British citizens aged 16 and over. Interestingly enough, the research showed only 3 percent had actually bought Bitcoin (BTC) or another altcoin. Moreover, nearly three in four of the respondents haven’t heard about cryptocurrencies or couldn’t define them.

Our research finds 73% of UK consumers surveyed don’t know what a 'cryptocurrency' is or are unable to define it. Those aware are likely to be men aged 20 – 44. Summary: https://t.co/ZjhzuyHa0K #cryptoassets pic.twitter.com/GtTdO1VFJZ

— Financial Conduct Authority (@TheFCA) March 7, 2019

Those who have bought cryptocurrencies before apparently did so for all the wrong reasons: as a gamble (31 percent), to make a quick buck (18 percent), or for Fear Of Missing Out (4 percent). Nevertheless, 30 percent entered the market as a part of a wider investment portfolio. Because of this general gambler attitude, investors aren’t that interested in conducting thorough research before buying a specific digital asset. 16 percent of the buyers said they actually didn’t do any kind of research, while 25 percent were convinced by family, friends, or colleagues to jump on the crypto bandwagon. Only 8 percent conducted ‘deep’ research while 50 percent did some ‘general’ research before purchasing digital currencies.

Dr. Doom Delivers Yet Again: Crypto Twitter Is Arrogant And Clueless

The famous Dr. Doom Nouriel Roubini inadvertently doubled down on the claims the UK survey uncovered. In an interview for the CFA Institute, Roubini couldn’t miss the opportunity to shoot down the industry (again). He called cryptocurrency a technology with ‘absolutely no basis for success’ and ‘the mother of all bubbles.’

"We may be building up the seeds of the next economic downturn. Picking the exact time when the crisis will hit is almost impossible, but we don’t live in a safe world." — @Nouriel Roubini

via @Enterprising, @Paul_Kovarsky, CFA, @SALTConference https://t.co/9baVkZecx5

— CFA Institute (@CFAinstitute) March 9, 2019

Roubini called the cryptocurrency fanbase ‘zealots’ and ‘fanatics,’ arrogant in their views, ignorant, and clueless about how the real economy works. In his view, Bitcoin and altcoin advocates live in a dream world where they want to ‘reinvent everything about money.’ Dr. Doom ended the interview with some advice to his younger self: start saving at a young age and avoid investing in ‘stupid bubbles’ like, obviously, the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Instead, a young man should invest in a diversified portfolio, consisting of ‘index funds,’ and HODL.

Former Fed Chair Bernanke: The Man Who Triggered The Cryptocurrency Revolution

Besides criticizing the cryptocurrency community, Roubini also talked briefly about former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and his policies post-2008 subprime mortgage crash. He expressed his admiration for the Quantitative Easing (QE) policies Bernanke initiated back in late 2008 to stop the escalation of the recession. However, all those policies did was delay the painful outcome at the cost of an entire generation. David Williams spoke of this cold hard truth in an opinion published in Financial Times.

Opinion: What's behind the rise of millennial socialists? It's Ben Bernanke and his 'cash for trash' scheme that bailed out baby boomers at the expense the younger generation. https://t.co/GUCR6MV8kd

— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) March 1, 2019

Williams rightfully believes Bernanke and his ‘cash for trash’ QE policy triggered the current socialist wave among American millennials. QE merely bailed out the Baby Boomers at the expense of the millennials, who now have a hard time integrating into a system that practically booted them out. QE just re-inflated a bubble with even more debt that has to — and ultimately will — be paid by future generations. Millennials already feel that burden and, in an act of desperation, are choosing the apparent sanctuary of the cryptocurrency industry. They may not be able to fully explain their decisions, but they can certainly feel something is wrong in the world. They have been left out and they don’t know why. They may be day-dreamers. They may not know many things about QE, Keynesianism, or Modern Monetary Theory. What they do know is that things must change. Since they cannot trust central banks anymore, they dream of a decentralized world. Since they cannot trust a system that proves to be more and more unfair, they dream of complete financial and economic independence. Who can blame them? What’s your take on the matter? Why did you invest in cryptocurrency? Was it to make a quick buck or was it because you lost trust in the current system? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.