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Nearly a Third of Millennials Say They'd Rather Own Bitcoin Than Stocks

15 points by rayuela 9y ago

megaman22 9y ago
It's probably not completely idiotic to favor bitcoin over government bonds - one of these two has at least the chance of increasing in value significantly more than inflation. But give me Vanguard Admiral shares.
- hkmurakami 9y ago
  One of these also has the chance to lose significant value. US Govt bonds limits your real downside to about 1% give or take.
aecs99 9y ago
> The study of more than 2,000 people found that 42 percent of millennials are at least somewhat familiar with bitcoin, compared with 15 percent among those ages 65 and up. Something that is not clear from the article is: what exactly does "somewhat familiar" mean?
- lightbyte 9y ago
  The article cites no sources for anything, so it's safe to assume it's entirely made up. Though I actually was able to find the source outside of this badly written article: http://www.survey.blockchain.capital/ http://www.survey.blockchain.capital/ The question (and answers) were: How familiar are you with Bitcoin? a) I own/have owned Bitcoin b) Very Familiar c) Somewhat Familiar d) Head of it but not familiar e) Never heard of it
jaclaz 9y ago
Being an optimist, I read the news as 2/3 of millennials would still prefer stocks to bitcoins. However, had the question been "You have saved US$ 1,000, what would you do with it?", the number of millennials stating they would buy the latest smartphone would probably be preoccupying.
analogmemory 9y ago
As a fellow lizard person, I concur. I do have a 401k but i've been putting more into crypto coins these days.
johnpython 9y ago
What percentage of millennials even understand Bitcoin? How many of us on HN are frequently asked about investing in cryptocurrencies by people who have no business approaching the topic.
RickS 9y ago
I think it's pessimistic but reasonable to expect that most people fail to understand the fundamentals behind both stocks and bitcoin. Given that, I think the best way to read this is as a measure of faith. What is the expected source of future economic growth? Emerging tech, or existing economic structures? Given the state of young people in the US, it's not surprising to see confidence waning in incumbent financial systems.
- ellius 9y ago
  That’s obviously exactly correct. The technical merits of various investments is exactly the sort of thing where I’m not looking for popular opinion.

15 points by rayuela 9y ago

It's probably not completely idiotic to favor bitcoin over government bonds - one of these two has at least the chance of increasing in value significantly more than inflation. But give me Vanguard Admiral shares.

hkmurakami 9y ago
One of these also has the chance to lose significant value. US Govt bonds limits your real downside to about 1% give or take.

aecs99 9y ago

> The study of more than 2,000 people found that 42 percent of millennials are at least somewhat familiar with bitcoin, compared with 15 percent among those ages 65 and up. Something that is not clear from the article is: what exactly does "somewhat familiar" mean?

lightbyte 9y ago
The article cites no sources for anything, so it's safe to assume it's entirely made up. Though I actually was able to find the source outside of this badly written article: http://www.survey.blockchain.capital/ http://www.survey.blockchain.capital/ The question (and answers) were: How familiar are you with Bitcoin? a) I own/have owned Bitcoin b) Very Familiar c) Somewhat Familiar d) Head of it but not familiar e) Never heard of it

jaclaz 9y ago

Being an optimist, I read the news as 2/3 of millennials would still prefer stocks to bitcoins. However, had the question been "You have saved US$ 1,000, what would you do with it?", the number of millennials stating they would buy the latest smartphone would probably be preoccupying.

analogmemory 9y ago

As a fellow lizard person, I concur. I do have a 401k but i've been putting more into crypto coins these days.

johnpython 9y ago

What percentage of millennials even understand Bitcoin? How many of us on HN are frequently asked about investing in cryptocurrencies by people who have no business approaching the topic.

RickS 9y ago

I think it's pessimistic but reasonable to expect that most people fail to understand the fundamentals behind both stocks and bitcoin. Given that, I think the best way to read this is as a measure of faith. What is the expected source of future economic growth? Emerging tech, or existing economic structures? Given the state of young people in the US, it's not surprising to see confidence waning in incumbent financial systems.

ellius 9y ago
That’s obviously exactly correct. The technical merits of various investments is exactly the sort of thing where I’m not looking for popular opinion.