More than one in ten Americans traded crypto in the past 12 months, survey shows

More than one in ten Americans invested in cryptocurrencies in the previous 12 months, demonstrating the growing popularity of digital currencies such as bitcoin and Ethereum, according to a University of Chicago survey.

According to the survey, 41% of these investors are women, 44% are people of color, 35% make less than $60,000 per year, and 45% have a college education, which was done between June 24 and June 28.

Investors were most likely influenced by a rise in cryptocurrency prices early this year. According to NORC, a research department at the university that conducted the study, the majority of crypto investors (61%) bought in over the last six months.

“Potential investors are leery of investing their retirement savings into what has been, to date, a fairly volatile investment,” said Mark Lush, who manages the Behavioral and Economic Analysis and Decision-Making team at NORC, in a survey. 

“Cryptocurrencies may have staying power as an investment option, but our hunch is that they will continue to lag behind more traditional investment opportunities for the foreseeable future,” he said.

The most traded cryptocurrency, bitcoin, has dropped from about $36,000 to below $30,000 in the month, a 20% drop while the currency was hovering around $60,000 two months ago.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has also indicated an interest in cryptocurrency ventures. Tesla said in May that it will accept bitcoin as payment for vehicle sales but he no longer accepts the currency owing to environmental worries over bitcoin mining.

The price of cryptocurrency is falling as investors become increasingly concerned about the spread of the COVID-19 delta version and rising tensions between China and the United States. Furthermore, the Chinese government continues to tighten down on cryptocurrency trade.

According to the survey, just 11% of individuals who had not invested in cryptocurrencies indicated they were highly or somewhat inclined to start trading in the next 12 months.

The average crypto investor is 38 years old, whereas the average stock investor is 47 years old.