A new study by the Washington, DC-based analytics company Gallup reveals that Bitcoin is rapidly becoming a mainstream choice for young investors.
The research is drawn from the second-quarter Gallup Investor Optimism Index survey, which was conducted in June.
According to the data, Bitcoin ownership has taken off in the US in the past three years, especially among investors under 50. The researchers believe that Bitcoin is gradually approaching general acceptance among US investors as more and more people gain exposure to the asset class.
Overall Bitcoin ownership among US investors, who are defined as adults having more than $10,000 in traditional investment vehicles such as stocks or bonds, shot up from 2% in 2018 to 6% in 2021.
For investors over 50, ownership remained relatively low, up to 3% from just 1% in 2018. However, during the same period, ownership among younger investors between the ages of 18-49 jumped a staggering 10 percentage points to 13%.
While Bitcoin is still perceived by the majority as a risky investment, investors are gaining more confidence in the crypto asset.
The percentage of overall investors calling Bitcoin “very risky” has dropped from 75% in 2018 to 60% today. Additionally, fewer than half of investors under age 50 believe that BTC is very risky, down from 71% in 2018.
Comparing Bitcoin ownership in the US to mainstream holdings sheds more light on the asset’s current role in investors’ portfolios. While Bitcoin ownership currently sits at 6%, 84% of investors report that they own stock index funds or mutual funds, 67% own individual stocks, and 50% have bonds.
At 6% ownership, Bitcoin is behaving more like gold, which is reportedly held by 11% of US investors. For the majority of Bitcoin holders, the world’s largest cryptocurrency is primarily serving as a supplement to their portfolios rather than as an alternative to more traditional securities.
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Featured Image: Shutterstock/Damir Khabirov