Middle-aged people rush into crypto investment
Cryptocurrency investment is catching the attention of middle-aged people, with those in their 40s holding the largest amount of assets in their accounts among those at Korea’s top five cryptocurrency exchanges, data shows.
According to data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), 40-something investors’ account balances reached 17.5 trillion won as of the end of 2021. The figure represents the sum of their real-money deposits and invested cryptocurrencies in exchange accounts.
This situation accounted for 33 percent of the total assets in cryptocurrency exchanges, with those in their 30s coming in second with 14.8 trillion won.
Data showed that 50-something investors also remained active in crypto investment, with their capital worth 11.8 trillion won in the exchanges during the same period. Those aged over 60 also invested more in digital assets than those under the age of 30.
The data shattered widespread perceptions that only young age groups are willing to make investments in the cryptocurrency market.
Middle-aged people say that they have decided to jump into crypto investment in the hopes of generating better returns than through stock trading.
“Even if crypto investment is risky, its return is generally higher than the conventional stock investment,” a 40-something accountant in Seoul said on condition of anonymity.
“It was hard for me to analyze each company before investing in stocks, and my profitability was not good enough there,” he said.
“But after I started investing in cryptocurrencies early last year, their return has been much higher than I thought, which made me keep learning about the market,” he added.
He was motivated to start crypto investment due to surging apartment prices in recent years. He felt a sense of deprivation as a non-homeowner, and he had a strong temptation to hedge against risks from inflation.
“At that time, the cryptocurrency market was the best choice for me, as I did not want to engage in the panic buying of real estate due to its price surge,” he said.
Other people in the same age group also shared a similar opinion on the crypto market.
“Most middle-aged people are accustomed to stock investment, so it was easy for me and those in a similar age group to start crypto investment,” a Seoul-based office worker in his 40s said.
“Those who jumped into crypto investment a couple of years ago have witnessed a bull market. Some of them may have lost money during the period, but those who gained it will remain optimistic toward crypto investment.”