A new survey released by crypto trading firm e-Toro suggests that people want more cryptocurrency-based education.
One of the big problems we’re facing in the crypto arena is the consistent downing of prices for top digital assets. Many analysts claim that the crypto winter we’re now facing has a lot to do with a lack of education. Investors were either fearful that they would miss out, or wanted to be part of a large group, which is what largely inspired the constant entering of new money into the crypto space during 2017. This eventually led up to bitcoin’s all-time high of nearly $20,000 last December.
The situation led to short-term bullish circumstances, but things eventually got worse. At press time, for example, bitcoin has dropped by over 82 percent since last year and is now trading for just over $3,500. Other cryptocurrencies, like Ethereum and EOS, have fallen by over 90 percent.
People Behaved Stupidly
Several factors have led to these price drops, the biggest one being that many new investors simply entered the space without considering the repercussions. They wanted to get involved in the space but didn’t know how and didn’t bother to find out before shelling their life savings into bitcoin and crypto. This proved to be a fatal mistake, and with all that new cash flowing into the industry at once, the crypto space did become something of a bubble that couldn’t withstand the weight it was taking on. As a result, digital assets are lower than they’ve been in some time, and a lot of well-meaning people lost money.
Stronger education is a must if the bitcoin and blockchain space is to garner the legitimacy and attention it deserves. We’ve already witnessed several universities implementing crypto-based courses and lectures, but we’re not quite in a position where cryptocurrency classes can be considered mainstream. They’re not yet offered at every university, and the rate at which they’re being added has been relatively slow.
People Want More Classes
e-Toro’s survey results show that about 69 percent of the respondents are interested in learning more about digital currency. About 75 percent of those who didn’t hold any cryptocurrency to their names said they weren’t knowledgeable about it, while 20 percent who did hold crypto said the same. How can you hold digital assets when you know nothing about them?
About half of the people surveyed said that their lack of knowledge was preventing them from investing appropriately in the asset class. In addition, 97 percent of millennial respondents who had already invested in crypto said they were interested in learning more.
What the survey showed more than anything is that there is still a strong gender gap in the cryptocurrency space. Approximately 74 percent of women who took part in the survey said that they didn’t possess enough cryptocurrency knowledge. This is about 20 percent higher than the surveyed men. However, e-Toro says that 61 percent of both genders are interested in learning more.
What’s More Important Than Education? Safety…
At the same time, it’s important to acknowledge something. Several people taking part in the survey have confessed that their general lack of knowledge is preventing them from investing, but having this knowledge isn’t necessarily going to convince them that investing is the best way to go. While classes and education are important, they won’t necessarily lead to an influx of investors.
The only way to do this is by building an industry that people can truly believe in. This means invoking the appropriate security protocols to ensure exchanges and wallets are no longer hacked. This means implementing the right regulations to prevent bad actors from entering the space. People need to know that if they’re going to invest in crypto, they’re going to do so safely.
