Psychology Of Cryptocurrencies: Who Uses Them? What Are The Risks?

Ethereum, Cash, Tron, Stellar, Dogecoin, Bitcoin, Eosio, Ioita, Hedera Hashgraph, Aave … There are different types of cryptocurrencies, and they all have names that could very well refer to spaceships or those rockets that are supposed to take us to Mars in ten or fifteen years. While these trips to other planets are controversial, the cryptocurrencies of the digital world are even more so, and today we’re going to talk about their psychology.

There are those who get rich “mining” and there are many who simply ruined themselves overnight thinking that bitcoin, for example, would be a way to earn easy money. Cryptocurrencies are an obsession that continues to fill the scientific community with doubts. This means that psychology has focused not on them but on the people who have integrated them into their lives.

What characterizes them? What is behind someone who is so interested in a currency that is not issued or endorsed by any central authority or government?

The psychology of cryptocurrencies

Perhaps, when thinking about cryptocurrency, we almost immediately visualize the classic nerd putting his computers to work at the service of the blockchain network . It is what is defined as mining. The truth is that the universe of these digital coins is huge and there are many types of people who participate in it.

A few days ago the news spread that two brothers aged 9 and 14 earn more than 25,000 euros a month mining bitcoin, ether and ravencoin. The story seems worthy of science fiction. However, it is even more surprising to us to know what drives these children, youth and adults to move so skillfully in worlds where uncertainty prevails.

The search for news and the desire for rewards

Cryptocurrencies and their use have been a focus of psychology for some years for several reasons. The first is due to the impact they are having on a part of the population. The second is to understand what kind of person, on average, uses them, taking high risks.

Research works, such as those carried out at the University of Adelaide, show what remains to be discovered about a phenomenon in which many are already participating. Today, there are suspicions that behavioral addictions, such as gambling addiction, may develop in these cases.

The explanation for this is found in a very common behavior pattern among those who use them: they are people who like to experiment. It should be noted that these types of coins are those that can be operated on the back of the authorities.

Cryptocurrencies become part of your identity

When analyzing the psychology of cryptocurrencies, we see that they are almost a religion for many of these people. They evolve according to their own rules and a whole terminology has been generated around them.

The emotion of volatility

Just over a year ago, the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong and the University of Lethbridge carried out a study to try to answer a question. Are people who invest in cryptocurrencies different from the more classic and traditional ones who prefer the traditional stock market to make their investments? It seems so.

• On average, those who invest in cryptocurrencies have a personality focused on looking for new things. They are also more prone to gaming behaviors.
• On the other hand, it is common for them to form communities on social networks and be users of Twitter, TikTok and Reddit, spaces that tend to reinforce the popularity of cryptocurrencies.

Furthermore, they are defined by the emotion that the volatility image of this type of currency arouses. Today they may be worth a lot and tomorrow they may lose all their value. This sense of risk and excitement is addictive.

The Bitcoin Race, Generation Y and the Hope of Getting Rich

The gold rush started in 1848 and lasted until 1960, spreading across several continents. Thousands of people migrated to California, Yucon, Alaska, Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Australia and New Zealand driven by a primary need: to get rich with this mineral. Currently, cryptocurrencies put technology at the service of people so that whoever wants to take the leap and have the “possibility” of getting rich.

Enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies is high among millennials. In a way, cryptocurrencies provide hope given the few current job opportunities. With the advent of blockchain technology and this new form of investment around which an entire subculture was created, the psychological impact was significant. However, at the moment the studies are not conclusive.