TIMES.KY

Cayman Islands, Caribbeanand International News
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

About 2.3m Britons hold cryptocurrencies

About 2.3m Britons hold cryptocurrencies

FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) says the digital assets appear to have become more normalised and viewed less as a gamble.
The number of UK adults who hold cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin has risen to an estimated 2.3 million, despite warnings from regulators and the head of the Bank of England that people should be prepared to lose all their money.

The typical profile of buyers of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin was ‘largely male, over 35 and in the AB social grade’, said the FCA.

Research by the Financial Conduct Authority also revealed that almost 20% of buyers said they were driven by a fear of missing out, while one in seven were going into the red to finance their cryptocurrency purchases.

The median holding has risen from £260 a year ago to £300, though the highest holding reported by a respondent was £7m. Meanwhile, the typical profile of investors was “largely male, over 35 and [in the] AB social grade”, said the FCA.

Amid evidence that a new breed of mainly younger DIY investors are putting their money into the likes of bitcoin, ethereum and Ripple, the FCA conducted detailed research in January which concluded that cryptocurrencies “appear to have become more normalised”, with fewer of those investing regarding them as a gamble, and more as a legitimate alternative asset.

Looking at the main reasons people gave for putting money into bitcoin and other products, 18% responded: “I don’t want to miss out on buying cryptocurrencies.”

While most people said they paid for their cryptocurrency using their own disposable income or cash, 14% said they had turned to some form of borrowing – either a credit card, bank overdraft or loan from friends, family or a financial firm.

Laith Khalaf, a financial analyst at investment firm AJ Bell, said the fact buyers had borrowed to buy cryptocurrency “is simply terrifying”.

He added: “FOMO [fear of missing out] … is never a good motivation for financial decisions. Buying cryptocurrency is a dangerous financial activity, and while many consumers appear to understand the risks, some are carelessly playing with fire.”

The 2.3 million people who are estimated to own cryptocurrency equates to about 4.4% of UK adults, and is up more than a fifth on a year ago, when the figure was 1.9 million.

The FCA research found that “enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies as a product is growing among crypto users”, and that two in three (66%) of owners said they had enjoyed a positive return on their investment, with 11% reporting a loss.

But it also found that while the sector’s profile had increased, “the overall level of understanding has fallen”.

The research comes in the wake of a surge of interest in bitcoin and other digital currencies, fuelled by prices hitting record highs, tweets from high-profile figures such as the Tesla chief executive, Elon Musk, and posts from influencers on sites such as Instagram and TikTok.

Some institutional investors and traditional financial services firms have made moves into the sector, though there have been a series of warnings from senior figures that the extreme volatility of cryptocurrencies means investors could face a wipeout.

Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, said earlier this year that bitcoin had “no intrinsic value at all”, adding: “I’ve said a number of times: ‘Only buy bitcoin if you’re prepared to lose all your money’.”

Regulators at the European Central Bank have compared bitcoin’s meteoric rise to other financial bubbles such as “tulip mania” and the South Sea Bubble, while the FCA said putting money into cryptocurrencies “is high-risk … investors should be prepared to lose all their money”.

Two-thirds of cryptocurrency owners hold bitcoin, while the next most popular were ethereum (35%), Litecoin (21%) and Ripple (18%), according to the FCA research.
Newsletter

Related Articles

TIMES.KY
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×