A recent survey conducted of working males aged 25-30 in Japan reveals that 14% of this group own some form of cryptocurrency, as first published by local online magazine Shin R25, on 3 April.
Despite media frenzy over Bitcoin’s recent plunge in value, this has not deterred the young working men of Japan from investing. The study surveyed 4,734 participants across Japan, between January and March of this year, with over a quarter of respondents reporting that cryptocurrency holdings constituted their first investment.
Of the participants surveyed that owned crypto, 92% noted that they entered the cryptocurrency market for investment purposes. This is indicative of recent investment trends in the younger generation, that see the group withdrawing from traditional forms of investment such as stocks and bonds.
The questionnaire surveyed these trends in investment for first-time buyers, finding 24.3% purchased their assets between October and December 2017, with 15% choosing to enter the market in either January of this year or later, as the value of Bitcoin decreased.
When questioned on the total sum of their investments, 34.5% recorded that they owned less than 50,000 Japanese Yen (JPY), approximately USD 469, while 10.2% said their holdings totalled JPY 1 million or more, approximately USD 9,360 and above.
In regards to the future plans with their holdings, 47.1% reported that they would like to actively invest in the market, with 34% saying they did not intend to continue investing.
Finance and cryptocurrency analyst Joseph Young noted on Twitter that even in such a leading cryptocurrency market as Japan, such a high figure of investment is surprising.
https://twitter.com/iamjosephyoung/status/981531672742014976
If the younger generations continue to adopt cryptocurrency as a primary form of investment, this is likely to increase the aggregate value of virtual currencies such as Bitcoin. Head of the research department for Fundstrat Tom Lee, recently reiterated his prediction that bitcoin would end the year valued at USD25,000.
The survey follows the news in January of hackers infiltrating Japenese cryptocurrency exchange platform Coincheck. Approximately USD 534 million was stolen in the form of NEM tokens. The Japanese Financial Services Agency acted by sending business improvement notices to seven similar platforms and temporarily suspending operations of another two.
