Cryptocurrencies, a third of Germans consider them an investment opportunity. Here's what a recent Postbank survey tells us.
The German bank Postbank reported that according to a recent survey, 29% of Germans believe that cryptocurrency is a desirable investment opportunity. In particular, the results of the Postbank Digital Study 2018 - based on a sample of 3.100 Germans interviewed from the end of February to the end of March this year - would say that one in two users of the youngest generation (the one aged between 18 and 34 years) would be interested in cryptocurrency investments. A figure that represents 46% of the total of people interviewed, while for 14% of these people there is a firm intention to buy or extract cryptocurrencies within the next year.
However, despite the huge interest in the cryptographic sector, the aforementioned demographic data represents only 8% of the total population. Thomas Mangel, Postbank's Chief Digital Officer, said in this regard that young people should not focus fully on cryptocurrencies as this type of investment "is highly speculative", with all the risks that follow from incorrect financial planning.
In addition to age, the study also focused on gender, looking at three different factors. First, 60% of women consider "independence of financial systems" more important than 51% of men. Second, higher returns from cryptocurrency investments attract 56% of men compared to 36% of women. Finally, 39% of men are in favor of the anonymity provided by digital currencies, while only 26% of women believe it is important. Outside this group, one in five people say they are simply excited to be part of a new form of investment.
The survey was conducted at a time when Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies experienced a free fall in their capitalisations, which is probably why the results in favor of these cryptocurrency they were a surprise to the bank. Mangel said that the media are responsible for this phenomenon, which in turn forces people to ignore the risks associated with buying these currencies. For example, 20% of Germans believe they are well informed on this subject simply by reading about it on social media, while 29% of young people aged 18 - 34 think they are experts in cryptography.
However, most people don't know that bitcoin earnings are subject to taxation in several countries. "Because of the media, many people overestimate their knowledge of the opportunities and risks of cryptocurrencies as an investment," concluded Mangel.
In March, the South Korea Financial Investors Protection Foundation instead published the results of a survey that showed how the majority of twenty-year-olds preferred to invest in cryptocurrencies rather than in conventional financial instruments such as stocks and bonds.
