Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are rising, with people increasingly deciding to invest in different currencies. Bitcoin is a virtual currency designed to act as money and a form of payment outside the control of any one person, group, or entity. The currency has attracted major supporters in Gen Z ( born between 1997-2012) with 13% of Gen Z holding or owning crypto, according to a study done by Piplsay, a market research organization.
As inflation continues many people in Gen Z have watched adults in their lives work long hours without making enough to live what they consider comfortable lives. People of the Gen Z also seem adamant about avoiding the 9-5, a term that has become negative over the years. As teenagers have seen the success of those who took risks in the Crypto investment field many see an opportunity for an alternative to the typical work life. Investing provides a solution for teenagers’ desires to not work for the rest of their lives but rather “have their money work for them.”
“I think young people are a lot more entrepreneurial these days,” said Youssef Altouki, a successful teenage crypto investor to The Standard. “They (teenagers) have grown up with the internet and have all this information available to them.”
With teenagers investing in Crypto comes caution. Michael Schmitz, an experienced crypto enthusiast, urges young investors of Crypto to invest, not gamble.
“When you’re putting money into something, you don’t necessarily know what it is, you’re gambling, you’re guessing, you’re hoping.”
Rather he claims that investing is when you understand the product and its value.
Schmitz also emphasizes comprehension rather than emotion while investing “Being young, you’re also more at the whim of your emotions, and your impulses. Rationally you should do a certain thing but you’re not able to pull it off because you’re young and more driven by impulse.”
So how does Gen Z learn to understand the value and product of these different Crypto organizations?
“The problem is that in your school, 90% of the people in charge of teaching you, they don’t understand investing,” explains Schmitz.
Learning the field of crypto doesn’t have to be done alone. Schmitz suggests reaching out to people who have experience in the Crypto investing field. These people don’t necessarily have to be experts but should be more successful than you in the investing field.
There are advantages to investing in Crypto at a younger age. Teenagers often have flexibility when it comes to the use of their income as they often don’t have large bills, spouses, or children. This allows them to invest money into these currencies without worrying about the money being spent on other commitments and allowing them to invest more into certain stocks which would potentially allow them to make more money. Additionally, there is long-term growth potential in the stocks, with Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin showing significant long-term growth. Teenagers also are more commonly tech-savvy. This could potentially help them to understand the Cryptocurrencies market more thoroughly.
Schmitz refers to an old saying when talking about Teenagers in the Crypto market “Time in the market beats timing the market.”
So as these teenagers begin their Crypto journey and continue to put time and energy into understanding the market, it could eventually set them up for success.
