We’re in an age of disruption, and much of it is due to technology. It tends to be the young who take the lead with new technologies. Cryptocurrency is no exception to this rule, but the difference with cryptos is that they could eventually affect all aspects of our lives and millennials are at the forefront of this possible economic revolution. Let’s take a look at how millennials are building the future of crypto and why they play such an important role in its rise.
They’re a Digital Generation
Millennials have an easy-going relationship with technology because they grew up with it. The internet has existed for their entire lives.
They’re leading older generations in the adoption rate of new technologies, and that includes cryptocurrencies. The fact that they’ve grown up with cryptocurrencies, a technology now a decade old, makes cryptocurrencies a logical choice. It isn’t novel to them. And they have the world at their fingertips. They don’t have to sit and wait for financial news and developments like their parents did, they can check easily check cryptocurrency prices via a crypto coin tracker and engage with financial experts in real time.
They’re the Future of Everything
The oldest millennials are entering their peak earning years, while the younger ones are entering the workforce. And a fair number of them bought cryptocurrency as soon as they could. One study found that nearly nine in ten Millennials thought that cryptocurrencies were a good investment. Their high level of trust in cryptocurrencies and the fact that more than half of them think cryptocurrencies are the future give cryptocurrencies a strong future. About three-quarters of those who bought cryptocurrencies did so because they were convinced that they’d see significant profits from it.
Furthermore, the sheer size of their generation means many businesses are rushing to cater to their demands. Their privacy and security concerns can be met with cryptocurrency, pushing businesses to accept it as a means of payment. The security and auditability of cryptocurrency along with growing adoption will lead to much wider use eventually.
The current generation is also much weary of how their information is used and is probably the most adamant when it comes to privacy rights. Cryptocurrencies with their promise of more private and sometimes anonymous transactions naturally appeal to them.
They Don’t Trust Big Institutions
The Great Recession and housing bust of the early 2000s had a major impact on millennials and their financial decisions. They don’t trust Wall Street or big banks. A fair number don’t trust fiat currencies either, which is in stark contrast with older generations who often had little to no knowledge of how the fiat system works.
As we see more digitization and demand for distributed financial services, millennials are primed to use the alternatives like cryptocurrencies. This explains why roughly 40% of millennials want to use cryptocurrencies for savings.
Lack of early regulation failed to make a difference in the rates at which generations invested in cryptocurrency, but we can expect this to change as new regulation is being introduced. For adults earning $100,000 or more, 40% said they’d invest more in cryptocurrency if there was more government regulation. For those earning less than $50,000 a year, only one in five said yes. Since millennials are seeing their incomes ramp up in time, they’re the prime group to have started investing at the start of their careers. Of all the people who invested in cryptocurrency, a third had done so before 2016. This means many millennials started investing what little money they had in college in cryptocurrency.
The Generation behind Them Is On the Same Track
Generation Y is equally adept with technology, and they’re being raised with the same concerns as millennials. In fact, they’re more focused on convenience and trust. They share similar views on cryptocurrency as their older peers, as well. In one study, almost half of Millennials said the underlying technology was the most important factor in determining whether or not to invest in an ICO. That number skyrocketed to 59% for Generation Y. This guarantees that any technology millennials take to the mainstream will stay there.
Add in this generation’s preference for peer to peer electronic payments and payment apps, and cryptocurrency is a natural fit with this demographic.
Conclusion
Cryptocurrency is a natural fit with the millennial generation’s preferences and expectations. They’re not the only ones who see a bright future for cryptocurrencies, but they are part of the reason it has one.