Financial pundits the world over, more comfortable in dealing in tangible commodities and assets, have described the cryptocurrency scene as too volatile to risk long-term investment. Whether you agree with them or not, it’s hard not to see why they should reach such a conclusion.
Almost all of the large financial and commercial institutions have taken a pass when it comes to utilising Bitcoin or its competitors in anything but the most experimental test markets. So much so that when Banco Santander recently announced its roll-out of an altcoin powered money transfer application, it was big news.
Meanwhile, the digital currency market has had more ups and downs than a rollercoaster, from immense highs at the end of 2017 to more than a two-thirds drop in value over the following six or seven weeks, resulting in a loss of $100 billion in real terms. It’s little wonder those whose job is essentially predicting the future are a little cagey.
However, if market experts are put off by cryptocurrencies, some millennials are taking quite the opposite view, finding investment in altcoins considerably less intimidating than playing the stocks and shares game.
Physical Bitcoins Sitting on a Laptop With Chart on Screen
But despite the unpredictable nature of cryptocurrencies, some millennials find investing in it less intimidating than putting money in the stock market or other traditional investments.
Those aged between 18 and 39 seem less willing to take a chance with traditional investment opportunities, with many of them being put off by the financial crisis of 2008, which saw a global stock market loss of $14 trillion. Clearly, if you were growing up or entering adulthood during those dark days, as most millennials were, the memories of the market crash will have left certain psychological scars, whether you’re aware of them or not.
Bitcoin and its ilk might be more volatile, at the moment, but it’s also more open. Indeed, the very foundation upon which altcoins are based – the blockchain – is all about transparency. There is no insider dealing: transactions are there on the blockchain for all to see – if they have a will to. And, as for rises and drops, compared to the $14 trillion lost by the traditional markets in 2008, $100 billion is suddenly chicken feed.
Besides, with bankers, investment firms and hedge fund managers out of the equation (for the time being, at least) many see digital finance as leaving them in control of their own money.
