As a kid, did you ever stick your hand into the cookie jar knowing you could get in trouble? The thought of that sugary, delicious cookie in your mouth was too good to pass up, and several entrepreneurs feel the exact same way about crypto.
When Crypto Falls, People Buy
Crypto prices have been failing miserably as of late. Bitcoin, for example, has lost over 80 percent of its value since the beginning of the year, while competing coins like EOS and Ethereum have lost over 90 percent. Some investors are looking to stay away from the crypto space until things get better, but according to a new survey, most technology startup founders are still putting their money into crypto and blockchain.
Approximately 500 startup executives were examined for the study, which was conducted by the investment firm First Round. The final tally shows that while over 40 percent of them have invested their own money into digital assets, only 13 percent of them believe that bitcoin and blockchain will become powerful forces in the future.
Bitcoin’s Not All It’s Cracked Up to Be
In addition, roughly 57 percent of those surveyed commented that they feel blockchain technologies and crypto are purely “experimental,” and that only a “minority” will integrate them into their overall operations over the next five years. Low figures indeed…
The big question is, “Why would these people continue to invest in something they have no hope for?” The survey suggests that most of them are doing so purely out of speculation. They’re looking to diversify their portfolios a bit while waiting for something big to happen. Granted bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies do recover in the future and reach stellar prices not yet seen, they want to have a stake in the industry, though they doubt this will come.
The Future Is in a Haze
The study also suggests, however, that the number of individuals investing in crypto has doubled to approximately 35 million over the past year.
What we’re witnessing is that crypto and blockchain are sparking the interest primarily of individuals, rather than businesses and institutions. One of the major arguments is that bitcoin will never gain full legitimacy unless it garners attention amongst institutional players. These figures have remained absent up to this point, though as more individuals show interest in the crypto space, they’re likely to stir the attention of bigger players who want to appease their customers’ growing interests and bring the crypto space to a higher position on the financial ladder.
Do you think businesses need to do more to educate themselves on blockchain? Post your comments below.
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